Dark Masters: Generation 2
by Ry-Guy
Summary: One year after Davis and the others finish their tasks, the kids get an e-mail from someone calling themselves the Dark Masters, challenging the 8 older kids to battle. But wait, they DESTROYED the Dark Masters! Then who are these guys? And what do they w
1. Part 1 - Re-Enter The Dark Masters

**Dark Masters: Generation 2**

Author's Note: This story is based on information available as of now. Several of the elements I use in this story are my own guesses or personal opinions. Many things I've changed, such as some popular Digivolution lineage theories (except, of course, those that are already common DD'ed evolutions appearing on the show; Gomamon still becomes Ikkakumon, and Garudamon didn't mysteriously become Aquilamon's Ultimate instead), I've changed just to give it a cooler feel. Also, as I didn't much care for the idea, you can throw away that whole "25 Years Later" scenario from the last episode of 02, including the part about EVERYBODY worldwide getting their own Partner-Digimon. So don't get on my ass about continuity.  
  


**_Part 1: Re-Enter The Dark Masters_******  
  


**Chapter 1: RSVP**  
  


"Perfect."

This was not the only word used to describe this summer day, but it pretty much summed it all up. TK, Izzy, Joe, Yolei, Davis, and Sora were sitting out in the park one day in July, procrastinating work to their fullest. Joe was helping Yolei with some textbook problems she was having trouble with, TK and Davis were playing some American game called "football" with some other kids, and Sora was just laying back, absorbing the sun. Izzy, on the other hand, was hard at work on his trusty laptop, surfing the net, when all of a sudden, he received a new e-mail.

He went to see what it was. It was entitled "5th Anniversary Reunion", from someone calling themselves "Old Friends". He didn't know who it was, but the domain was one he recognized: it was the Digital World! He called the others over. "Hey, guys, come look at this!"

"Huh?" replied TK, before being pummeled into the ground, unaware of oncoming opponents.

"What is it now, Izzy?" asked Joe. "It's an e-mail," replied Izzy. "So?" inquired Davis.

"It's from.... you know.... old acquaintances......." informed Izzy.

"Wait..... you mean.....?" Sora asked. Izzy nodded. "Well, what does it say?" asked Yolei.

"Come here and see," he replied. The kids came over and looked at the screen. Izzy was ready to click to open the message. "Do you think maybe it's Gennai?" asked Joe. "I don't think so," replied Izzy, "This isn't his e-mail address, unless he's changed it. Enough time's gone by by now down there, it wouldn't surprise me." "So who DO you think it is?" inquired TK. "We're about to find out," informed Izzy, as he got his index finger ready.

He clicked on the message.

**_Digi-Dunces,_**__

**_ Greetings, you little twerps. You may not quite recall, but 5 years ago, you defeated 4 powerful warriors. Now, after 5 years, it's time you came for a visit. Come fight us. Now. Oh, one small thing, though: only the ORIGINAL 8 Children are invited. Any intruders attempting to break through our firewall will be screened and DELETED. We are awaiting you. Come now, don't disappoint us, or many will suffer._**__

**_RSVP,_**__

**_The Dark Masters_******

"We've got a problem here," gulped Izzy.  
  


**Chapter 2: To The Digital World**

"What's going on?"

Izzy's room soon became very crowded, as the other DigiDestined children came in, almost simultaneously. Tai, Matt, Kari, Cody, Mimi, and Ken all rushed in, a look of worry in their faces. Tai was the first to speak.

"Yeah, you sounded urgent when you called us!" stated Matt.

"This had better be important; I was in the middle of a lesson with my grandfather," said Cody, coldly as ever.

Izzy showed them the e-mail.

The room turned silent, then to whispers, then to questions.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"The Dark Masters? Who...?

"But... we destroyed them!"

"Everybody settle down!" Izzy finally shouted. Once again, silent.

"Ok, first off, what are Dark Masters?" inquired Cody.

"The Dark Masters were 4 Mega Digimon who took over the DigiWorld in the time it took us to destroy Myotismon. Aside from VenomMyotismon, they were the first Megas we had ever encountered; MetalSeadramon, Puppetmon, Machinedramon, and Piedmon. It took a long time, and a LOT of energy, but we managed to defeat them, one by one. In the end, our biggest cards in the deck were WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and, soon after he finally Digivolved, MagnaAngemon."

"Wait.... you mean, they were NATURALLY evil?" asked Ken, the ex-Digimon Emperor, who had just recently been set free from the control of a being of immense power and evil. He had come to believe that Digimon THEMSELVES were not evil, rather they did bad things when commanded by a human, so the idea that a Digimon did evil deeds for no reason was foreign to him.

"Well, you could say that. As a matter of fact, they were created by an evil being named Apocalymon, whose very existence distorted the DigiWorld, and threw time out of whack."

"But we destroyed them! How could they have possibly survived?!?" asked Kari.

"I don't know. Perhaps they've reformatted by now. Remember, Digimon don't die like us; when their life energy runs out, their information is simply reconfigured, and they're reborn in the Primary Village. By now they may have had enough time to become reborn and re-evolved."

"Well, whatever the case, we've got to go stop them!" shouted Davis.

"No.... not we," replied Izzy, "Just the original 8 kids."

"But you said yourselves, you just barely beat them last time! You're going to need help!" pointed out Yolei.

"No way, you read what it said about anybody else coming! You're our last line of defense here. Besides, even if we DID need you, there's no way you could get through their firewall!"

"Couldn't you just hack through it?"

"No." The room fell silent, as they turned to see who had decided to step up and have their say; it was JOE! "It's been a long time since the 6 of us have been in the DigiWorld battling. We kind of miss it, and I think I speak for all of us when I say I need to know if we've still got it in us after all this time!" The silence resumed. Who would've thought that, of all people, the timid JOE would speak his mind and say they HAD to go back and FIGHT?

"..... Alright," Davis finally sighed, "but please... be careful."  
  


**Chapter 3: Well THAT'S a Fine "How Do You Do"!**

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?!?"

Not the most colorful words heard at this point, but it pretty much summed things up as to the feelings among the DigiDestined children. One minute they're standing around a computer, preparing to transport to DigiWorld; the next minute they're stranded in the middle of what seemed to be a very ill-tempered ocean. Oh, believe you me, they've experienced raging rapids. This made those seem like a leaking faucet.

As the 8 kids were rushed down the falls, they then remembered why they preferred to stay OUT of the DigiWorld.

Finally, Matt caught sight of a branch near the end of the waterfall, and called to the other kids to grab it. But just as they were about to grab it, large spikes, about half the size as the kids themselves, shot out of the water. They narrowly missed the kids. Just as they heaved a sigh of relief, they saw the spikes' true target: the branch; the ONLY thing between them and the ever-dropping waterfall. They held onto each other as long as they could, as they went over the edge, falling, falling.... Then something miraculous happened.

They stopped.

In the middle of the fall.

Suddenly, they were now being carried UPWARD, toward the top of the fall. Higher... higher.... higher......... higher STILL..... until they had PASSED the top! Although the context between the kids was a bit jumbled, one that stood out was Joe; "I think I'm gonna barf."

They then began to look around, in an attempt to see what exactly had just happened. "Whatever it was," Mimi said, "I'm just glad we're-"

"**_Safe? Think again!!!_******" was the next thing the kids heard, as a large creature, closely resembling a pufferfish, sporting the very spikes that had destroyed the branch. He had 2 arms, with large, spike-laiden hands, and a tattoo of an anchor on his bicep. And jaws that would make a tyrannosaurus run in terror.

"Are you the one who saved us?" asked Kari, hoping the OPPOSITE wasn't the case.

"**_Not For Long!_******" he shouted, as he swung his arms apart. The tower of water holding the children broke apart, sending the children flying randomly on small columns of water. He then began to send them upward and outward, over the cliff of the falls.

"Who are you?" asked Tai, in a brave, demanding voice.

"**_It's a shame; you'll never find out!_******" the creature replied, as he sent a barrage of spikes directly at the kids. The kids began to say their last goodbyes.

The next thing the kids saw was..... the spikes exploding. One by one, exploding. They looked closely, and saw that camouflage-colored missiles were intercepting each and every spike. Joe looked on with a smile, a hint of pride building inside him. They then saw a large, blue beam of ice intercept the fish monster. The monster became somewhat frozen. Matt looked on with a look of confidence, for although they knew it wouldn't hold the beast for long, it would be just long enough for them to escape.

The children then noticed that just as the beam was freezing the enemy, the water was becoming loose, losing its grip on the DigiDestined. As they began to fall, Joe, not surprisingly, seemed the only one not worried, as they suddenly landed on the back of a large, white walrus-like creature with a large, black horn. Ikkakumon. The kids now knew they were safe. Soon, as they sped away down the stream, a blue-striped wolf with a large snout and thick, almost magical fur, caught up to them. Garurumon.

"You guys keep going. Me and TK are switching trains!" shouted Matt, as the 2 jumped from Ikkakumon to Garurumon's back. And with that, they finally fled from the fish monster's sight.

"Ikkakumon! You have no idea how glad I am to see you again!" cried Joe.

"**Yep, I missed you too, little buddy,**" replied Ikkakumon.

"So, where are the others?" asked Izzy.

"**They should be here, or at least close,**" answered Garurumon. "**Gennai sensed that you guys were in the DigiWorld, so he e-mailed us to a place as close as he could get us to you guys.**"

"**_How appropriate then,_******" echoed a voice from beyond the cliff they were running alongside, "**_Gennai drops you off, and I give you a LIFT!_******"

They looked over the cliff, and just as they approached, a strange, striped creature emerged from beyond and below the edge. It had large, eagle-like claws, leathery, bat-like wings, and a masked bird-like beak and head. It had a snake for a tail. Before they could inquire as to the origin or identity of this beast, it had grabbed the 8 children with its front claws, and knocked Garurumon off the edge with its back paws. Garurumon managed to grab hold of a small ledge with its large front paws. It held on, as the flying beast flew off with the children over the canyon.

"**_It's too bad, really,_******" the beast taunted, "**_Here you thought you would just come here and run things like you never LEFT! But instead, I've got you puny kids in the palm of my-_******"

The creature then stopped, and began to sway left and right as it squawked. Joe began to get airsick. The kids looked up to see a glimpse of a small white cat with large paw-gloves covering the creature's eyes. "**Peek-a-boo, fly-boy!**" Kari began to cheer. She'd recognize Gatomon anywhere. Just then, the creature let the kids go, as its shaking caused Gatomon to fall off the creature's noggin. The kids were crying for help, but Sora remained silent, as she had a gut feeling something was about to happen.

Sure enough, they soon heard a loud cawing, followed by the feel of impact after landing on the back of a fiery-orange bird with huge fangs. Sure enough, Birdramon came to their rescue. "Yes, Birdramon! Thank you!" cried Sora. "**Later, Sora,**" replied Birdramon, "**right now, we need to deal with this problem right here. Hold on, everybody!**" as she spun in the air and shot several decent-sized fireballs at the face and wings of their opponent. Ikkakumon joined in on the action by shooting some missiles around the enemy, detonating just right that they created a smokescreen around the enemy. Garurumon had just managed to pull himself up over the ledge, and climbed his way back to the top of the cliff. They then continued to flee, as fast as their legs (or wings) could take them.

Finally, they managed to reach a series of mountains. It seemed safe enough for them. It was too out-of-the-water for that fish, and that... griffin, was it?... was passing overhead, apparently unable to detect them. They heaved a sigh of relief.

That is, until the mountain behind them shattered to bits.

The kids, shaken, turned to watch the debris. Eventually, the dust cleared, and as they watched, a large figure emerged from within. As it got clearer, and the creature closer, they realized it had a relatively human figure... except it was green... about 13 feet tall... and had big metal bolts coming out of its head and arms... and spikes on its feet... and a weird reddish-brownish visor covering its face... and a really, REALLY big axe. Other than that, perfectly human.

"**_DigiDestined... meet your match!_******" the creature rather plainly said, as it proceeded to take a swing at the DigiDestined children. "This is horrible," Mimi began to whine, "If only-"

Mimi had no more time to finish her sentence than they had to say "A large cactus with boxing gloves just punched this big green guy's fist out of the kids' path!" Mimi should've known Togemon would come to her rescue. "**_So, you wanna punch stuff? How about I punch your LIGHTS out?!?_******" Togemon shouted, with her familiar air of cockiness, and proceeded to attempt to take the Frankenstein reject out with her patented **Lightspeed Jabbing** attack.

Futile.

Although the first blow may have somewhat phased him, now that he was truly aware that something was happening, he brushed her away like swatting a fly. She slammed into the mountain, directly behind the Chosen Children, crumbling away a portion of the large rock. The monster then reached back, and gripped his axe. He wound up, then proceeded to fling his powerful weapon at the children and their Digimon. The Digimon didn't have the energy to protect the kids, so there was no hope. They closed their eyes. They heard a loud, slashing, slamming sound.

Next to them.

It had missed them by a mere foot. They opened their eyes and saw that it was on fire. And since Birdramon hadn't the energy for a **Meteor Wing**, they knew there was only one other place it could've come from. "Yeah, Greymon!!!!!" Tai shouted, "Perfect timing."

"And a nice shot, might I add," added Matt.

"**Thanks a lot, but right now, we need to get out of here, before the fog clears and he sees what's happening,**" replied Greymon. The kids nodded, and, divided amongst their digital partners, hurried away. As they watched the strange monster disappear in the distance, they soon found shelter within a nearby dark cave. There they hid, until all sound had disappeared. They heaved another well-deserved sigh. There they sat, just still, taking in their surroundings.

They sat there, until they heard a noise... a whisper almost... coming from deeper inside the cave... then a dim flicker of light. The kids slowly stood up. Then, just as they jumped for cover behind some rocks and small openings, a wave of energy as large as the passageway roared by with a scream. It reeked of power. As it was, it still demolished some of the ceiling and floor as it passed by. Finally, the wave stopped. The kids peeked around to see if it was safe. They then saw something else... a sort of glimmer... an outline of a body... not human... larger than the hole... and what looked like 2 tusks. It was plowing through the ceiling, and crushing the floor and walls. And it was headed their way.

Needless to say, the kids decided this was a good time to run.

They ran and ran, as there was no room to fly, no room to ride, and no water to swim in. The creature - yes, it was DEFINITELY a creature - was gaining on them. The entrance to the cave was close. But the creature was bolting through too fast. Even if the kids made it out, it would be only seconds before he would crush them anyway. Still, there was nowhere to hide, so they had no other option. Suddenly, the kids saw a large pair of blue, 3-toed, insectoid legs just outside the opening. They knew they would make it now. "**Hurry Izzy! Get everybody out of there!**" shouted the newly-arrived Kabuterimon. The kids ran and ran, the creature getting closer and closer. Finally, as the kids exited the cave, Kabuterimon jumped into the air and yelled "**Electro Shocker!!!**" as he shot a ball of electric thunder at the top of the entrance, causing a cave-in. They heard the movement inside the cave stop. Could the creature have finally been stopped?

Not likely.

They heard a rumble, then the enormous monstrosity emerged through the rubble, roaring. In the light, they could now see it more clearly. It was completely skeletal in structure, elephant-like in form, and had a gold-plated mask, trunk, and tusks. They watched the creature's exposed heart beat as it looked down to face them. Its eyes were horribly red. As he towered over them, his shadow was cast upon the whole group. They stood there in horror.

They heard a noise behind them. They turned and looked up to see the strange bird-like creature once again. "**_Ah, here you kids are! How convenient: all rolled up in one neat little-_******"

He couldn't finish his sentence before being blown away by a blast of white energy. A similar blast landed upon the elephant monster, who merely flinched. They heard something accompanying the blast. A voice. It seemed to say "**Hand of Fate!!!**".

At last, they saw their heavenly savior. It was rare to see anything, much less a Digimon, of this power and awe. His name was Angemon. Finally, with TK's Digimon, the most powerful of the Champions, the team was fully restored.

"**_Good then, the players are all in position,_******" the mammothian creature stated.

Tai was startled. There was something ghostly familiar about this creature's tone. Even its accent.

Suddenly, something broke up through the ground. It was the green manlike monster, followed by a geyser of water and the blowfish. All 4 of them, including the now recovered griffin, were now surrounding the 8 children and their Digimon.

"Who are you?" TK demanded, "and what do you want from us?"

"**_Hah hah HAH! Who are we??? Well, perhaps first we should explain WHAT we are! We are four forces of evil who now have the power of the Digital World on our fingertips. We are the EPITOME of power! Allow us to introduce ourselves:_******"

"**_Pukumon!!!!!_******"

"**_Gryphonmon!!!!!_******"

"**_Boltmon!!!!!_******"

"**_And myself, SkullMammothmon!!!!!_******" He then peered down at them, his eyes a burning, red rage. "**_... and you don't stand a chance against us._******"

"Oh no," cried Izzy, using TK's Terminal, "They're all MEGA Digimon!!!"

"**_Ahh, observant, are we?_******" replied Pukumon, "**_Well, look up THIS!!!_******" He then blew a large bubble, bigger than himself. Boltmon then tossed his axe at the DigiDestined. The kids jumped, as the Digimon protected them and took the full force of the attack, causing them to De-Digivolve back to their Rookie forms. Then, as they hung there in the air, Gryphonmon headbutted the bubble at them, which eventually trapped them inside. SkullMammothmon then stepped up to the bubble. His eyes were bloodshot, and could have shot fear in the heart of Satan himself.

"**_Who are we? HAH!!!_******" he taunted, as he pulled his trunk back, and then swung, sending the DigiDestined flying through the air, way out. And his last words would haunt them for the days to come...

"**_We are the DARK MASTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_******"

  
  
  
  


**To Be Continued.....**


	2. Part 2 - Q & A

**Dark Masters: Generation 2**

Author's Note: This story is based on information available as of now. Several of the elements I use in this story are my own guesses or personal opinions. Many things I've changed, such as some popular Digivolution lineage theories (except, of course, those that are already common DD'ed evolutions appearing on the show; Gomamon still becomes Ikkakumon, and Garudamon didn't mysteriously become Aquilamon's Ultimate instead), I've changed just to give it a cooler feel. Also, as I didn't much care for the idea, you can throw away that whole "25 Years Later" scenario from the last episode of 02, including the part about EVERYBODY worldwide getting their own Partner-Digimon. So don't get on my ass about continuity.  
  


**_Part 2: Q & A_******

  
  


**Chapter 1: Recovery**

"Ouch."

Not even used, but it pretty much summed up the gist of it all. The DigiDestined lay in a heap, the bubble around them now gone. The kids turned around to see all of their Rookie Digimon; even Gatomon, who was normally able to hold her Champion form, had De-Digivolved to Salamon.

"Man... anybody get the number on that truck that just hit us?" asked Joe, weakly.

"This is no laughing matter, Joe!" retorted Matt, "We just got our asses handed to us on a silver platter! And we still don't know anything about these new guys!"

"Matt's right," said Izzy, "we don't know much about them, but let's put together what we DO know."

"Well," started Tai, "they're all Mega Digimon."

"Yeah, and they're ugly too," added Mimi.

"They claim to be.... well," started TK, "maybe not THE Dark Masters, but Dark Masters of some sort."

"And they really pack a punch!" added the pooped-out Agumon.

Sora contributed too. "There are 4 of them again this time, just like last time."

"Yeah, and they all seem to relate to a different part of the DigiWorld, just like last time." stated Kari.

"Exactly," concluded Tentomon, "One for nature, one for the seas, one for the robotic, and one for.... well....... the darkness, I guess."

"And..." finished Matt, "... they're pretty damn strong. It looks almost impossible, guys."

"C'mon, bro, it'll be alright," ensured TK, "We're all just a little upset right now, that's all. What I want to know is how this all happened so fast!"

"That's right," supported Kari, "We were just here no more than a year ago with Davis and the others! It just doesn't seem possible that a takeover like this could have happened in such a short time."

"Hey, look how quick the ORIGINAL Dark Masters conquered the DigiWorld! We were in the real world for all of a week, and the whole Digital World was distorted!" mentioned Tai.

"Yes, but that was because time moved much faster in the Digital World back then," corrected Izzy, "But now, time moves much more congruently between the 2 worlds. About a year has passed here, just like the year in the real world."

"Oh yeah," mumbled Tai.

"But in the e-mail, they talked about everything like they knew us..." said Sora, "... like they knew exactly what happened... like they were there... experienced it themselves..."

"Look, we don't have time to discuss this right now," Izzy spoke, "Right now, our first priority is to find 2 things."

"Oh yeah," inquired Joe, "What's 1 thing?"

"Gennai. We need to find his home and get some answers. He'll be able to tell us what's going on and how to defeat them."

"And what's the second thing we need to find?" asked Mimi.

"Cover."  
  


**Chapter 2: Jeez, the Things a Guy's Gotta Do to Get Some Service Around Here!**

It had been no longer than a half hour since they decided to get up and start on their way to Gennai's mansion before they were absolutely exhausted. This new batch of Megas beat the pants right off of them. They had no energy to continue. With a pathetic thud, they fell to the ground. Even little Patamon tried his best to fly, but to no avail, as he crashed back down onto the sands. Tentomon was leaking sparks, involuntarily. Things were bleak. Eventually, they lost all might. Tai hadn't the strength to so much as open his eye, or lift his hand. Finally, TK muttered something.

"Hey, you guys, we're there."

They didn't know how they did it, but somehow, they were laying right in front of the shore that led to Gennai's ocean home. They had made it. After a minute or so, they all were on their feet once again. Izzy used TK's Terminal, which surprisingly had survived the ordeal, to quickly send an Instant Message to Gennai, asking permission and passage into his home. For some reason, though, there seemed to be no response. Suddenly, their Digivices began to light up, first a glow, then an all-out flash, like lightning, and the seas began to part, revealing a stairway to the ocean floor. Kari took a step back and gasped, as this was something she hadn't seen before with the other kids. She was kind of shaky on the idea of walking down, but when she saw the others proceed, she took a deep breath and decided to follow next to TK. Watching him so confident made her much less afraid of what she was doing.

Something seemed different, that much was certain. The waters had a sort of... darkness... to them, not their normal, bright, blue glow. They watched the creatures around them as they slowly descended the steps. They saw small, white things that seemed strangely familiar to Joe. Tentomon explained that they were Pichimon, the Fresh form of Bukamon and Gomamon. Unlike most Digimon, Tentomon explained, water Digimon are born in a special underwater section of Primary Village, and, unlike the other Fresh, or baby, monsters, the underwater Freshes tend to wander far from the village, even before they Digivolve to In-Training. Especially the Pichimon, which apparently go quite a ways out of the way of the village before Digivolving. As they watched, one little Pichimon stayed in place at the edge of the wall in the water, looking right at them. And before their eyes, a flash of light, and it Digivolved into a Bukamon right in front of them! Gomamon smiled and waved, showing how proud it was of the newly Digivolved Bukamon. The Bukamon waved back, and swam off into the deep... blueish... sea.

As they said goodbye to the happy-go-lucky creature, they looked down to see 2 other Digimon. One was a gray, crablike monster, and the other one looked kind of like an oyster with a little head poking out instead of a pearl. When the 2 saw that they had been spotted, they moved back, with fear in their eyes. The sweet-hearted Mimi bent down, and reached her hand down to the creatures slowly, while assuring them that they weren't going to hurt them. Nonetheless, the 2 sea creatures swam and crawled away at a very rare pace. Apparently they were still scared of the humans. The kids brushed it off, and continued down. It wasn't far now to Gennai's mansion.

Finally, they got within 100 yards of where the mansion sat. And when they got a little closer, they saw.....  
  


**Chapter 3: The Chase is On**

"**_Incredible!_**__" shouted SkullMammothmon, "**_You mean they actually managed to SURVIVE our attack?!?_**__"

The Dark Masters were in their deep cave hideout, right in the area SkullMammothmon had emerged from when he introduced himself to the DigiDestined. They were planning their next attack, when Gryphonmon had returned from his scouting report with some bad news.

"**_I know it sounds unbelievable, but they've done it. I checked the landing area myself. There's definitely marks to show they've landed, but there's no sign of THEM anywhere except some wind-faded tracks!_**__" replied Gryphonmon.

"**_It seems they're more resourceful than we thought,_******" stated Pukumon. "**_It's time to stop toying with them and rid ourselves of their presence as soon as possible!_******"

"**_Oh, poor Pukumon: no sense of adventure whatsoever,_******" replied Gryphonmon. "**_Now where would all the fun be if it was so EASY??? The fun is in the hunt; playing GAMES with them. Once we find them, we hang around a bit, then show them our power. Maybe even take a couple of 'em out._**__"

"**_Yeah, but as you said, we have to FIND them first!_******"

"**_How we do that?_******" inquired Boltmon.

"**_How am I supposed to know, you damned FOOL???_******" retorted Pukumon, "**_In case you haven't noticed, we have no way to track them!!! They're clever, I'll give them that much. But nonetheless, they're still beginning to get o-_******"

"**_SILENCE!_******" interrupted SkullMammothmon. All noise ceased. Then, as Boltmon slowly drew his axe, SkullMammothmon swiftly swung his trunk toward the cave's underwater entrance and bellowed, "**_SHOW YOURSELF!!!_******"

Out from the shadows emerged 2 small creatures, dripping water.

"**_Crabmon??? Syakomon??? What in blazes are you 2 doing here???_******" yelled Pukumon.

"**_You KNOW these buffoons???_******" inquired SkullMammothmon, as he let them by.

"**_Know them? They WORK for me!_******" answered Pukumon.

"We're sorry to disturb you, lord Pukumon sir," started the small grey crab, Crabmon, "but we just came across somethi-"

"**_QUIET!!!_******" he roared. The 2 quivered. He continued, "**_I told you NEVER come to this hideout, ESPECIALLY during a meeting! You have 3 seconds to explain what the HELL you're doing here before I DEEP FRY YOU!!!!! 1!_******" he began.

"Well, you see, lord Pukumon sir, we were just sitting there, minding our own bus-"

**_"2!!_******"

"Well, anyway, the point is, sir, Lord, these strange creatures came along an-"

"**_3!!!_******"

"IT WAS THE DIGIDESTINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Dark Masters stopped. Dead frozen. Was it possible that these 2 simpletons have actually stumbled upon the very children they themselves were unable to locate???

"It's true, we swear it!" continued Syakomon, the clam-like Digimon, "They had the little glowy gadgets and everything! They even made a little Pichimon Digivolve into a Bukamon!!!"

It WAS true that the DigiDestined had the power to make Digimon Digivolve..... and these 2 DEFINITELY seemed to know what they were talking about.......... they really MUST have seen them! This changed everything. The game was now afoot.

"**_Tell me..... where did you see these... DigiDestined?_******"

"In the Ruined Rivers, lord Pukumon!"

"**_The Ruined Rivers???_******" asked Gryphonmon, dumbfounded.

"**_What could they possibly be doing there?_******" wondered SkullMammothmon, "**_Pukumon, do YOU know of anything relevant left in that area???_******"

"**_Well, I know of only 1 thing they'll find there..._******" began Pukumon.

"**_Oh?_******" inquired SkullMammothmon, "**_What might THAT be?_******"

"**_Their DESTRUCTION!!!!!!_******"  
  


**Chapter 4: What the...?**

"..... nothing."

Everyone eventually said this, first Izzy, down to Kari. Where Gennai's great mansion once stood, now there was nothing. No house, not even debris..... just nothing. Just the floor beneath them meeting the water.

"Uh..... call me Mr. Obvious Question here, but ah........ where is it?" asked Joe.

"Call me Mr. Obvious Answer, but I have no clue!" replied Matt.

"But... but.........." stammered Gomamon, "..... but I know this is the place. I KNOW it! I remember swimming right here, and all of a sudden, all the water under me disappeared!! It-"

"Yeah, yeah, we KNOW, Gomamon!" interrupted Palmon, "We saw it happen! We believe you! And if you say this was the place, then we sure as heck buy it!"

"... of course, it would help if we had anything to show for it right about now...." mumbled Tentomon.

"You mean to tell me we went ALL this way for NOTHING?!?" shouted Salamon, "That you guys don't even know where you're GOING?!?!?"

"Settle down, Salamon!" suggested Kari, calmly, "It's not their fault, and we don't know any more than THEY do. So let's just follow along, ok?"

"..... ok. Sorry," apologized Salamon.

"It's ok, Salamon, don't worry about it!" reassured Patamon, "This can't be easy, not being able to help with something like this. But cheer up, we'll figure it out!"

"Gee.... thanks, Patamon..." said Salamon.

"Hmm....... Don't suppose when Gennai e-mailed you over here he left a forwarding address, huh?" inquired Izzy.

"Sorry, didn't seem important at the time," replied Gabumon, "We were only worried about saving you guys!"

"Well, I say we start looking for something," suggested Sora, "You know, some kind of clue as to what happened and where he went."

"I agree, and it's a lot better than sitting around doing nothing!" replied Tai. They all began to walk to the "ruins".

Big mistake.

As they approached the site, it suddenly..... erupted, is the best word for it. It began to shatter and quake, hurling the DigiDestined every-which-way. They looked up to see huge spikes dropping down and smashing the earth before them. Before they could react to this situation, they faced another problem: the walls of water were beginning to weaken and wobble. They couldn't figure out where to look; everything was a blur. Finally, the walls couldn't take the strain, and collapsed, engulfing the kids and their Digimon in the water. They held their breath the best they could. It was hard to make anything out, but they managed to distinguish something from the scramble of the ocean: a large, smiling blowfish. Pukumon. It had to be him. But, how did he find them? They had no time to think about questions right now; the important thing right now was to get up to the shore. Unfortunately, it was more than a few steps away, and they couldn't exactly tell where they were going. No problem, they would simply surface. Not so simple. With a large breath, Pukumon distorted the ocean, leaving the DigiDestined spinning, not knowing which way WAS up! All but Gomamon. And with a glow of Joe's Digivice, he set out to take this problem head on.

"Gomamon, Digivolve to.... **Ikkakumon!!!!**"

There, once again, Gomamon shed his purple striped, red-headed Rookie form, and donned his white-furred, black-horned Champion form of Ikkakumon. He then proceeded to retrieve the children and other Digimon, one by one. At the same time, he launched his heat-seeking **Harpoon Torpedo** to try to distract Pukumon. To no avail. Pukumon merely held his fist out as the missiles exploded on impact, Pukumon not shaken in the least. As Ikkakumon attempted to bring the DigiDestined to land, the enemy drew closer and closer. Finally, he caught up with the water mammal, and proceeded to attack him. He punched the walrus over and over again, causing Ikkakumon to wince. The kids and their Digimon were beginning to run out of air and energy, and Ikkakumon had next to no energy left. Finally, the enemy decided to quit toying with him, and launched some of his spikes. The first 2 grazed Ikkakumon, injuring him.

The third embedded itself deep into the hero's side, causing him to wail in agony.

Joe attempted a scream, but was muffled by, and began to choke on, the water. He tried to get Ikkakumon to Digivolve to Zudomon, but it was too late, and Ikkakumon hadn't the energy to Digivolve again. As he plummeted to the ground below, he began to glow, and De-Digivolved once again back into Gomamon, with some definite wear from the battle; he had bruises all over his little body, and he was bleeding from where the spike had hit its mark. Luckily, the spike itself flew free after its large host disappeared, and floated off before disintegrating. Gomamon wasn't moving. As Joe tried desperately to swim to reach him, he managed to make out that Gomamon was breathing, but barely. Or was that how Gomamons breathe underwater? He hadn't the time to discuss to himself. For there was Pukumon, just swimming there, as if he were looking for a target. His eyes rolled left.... right.... back to the left as he scanned for his first victim. Finally, he decided on his prey.

As he moved forward to strike, he suddenly found himself slamming into the ocean floor. He crashed with a loud thud as a large cloud of dust flowed through the water. As the kids tried to figure out what had just happened, they found themselves being whisked away. Some were yanked through a current, some felt themselves riding a soft, yet firm surface, and some felt teeth carrying them. The next thing they knew, they broke through the surface of the water and were flying through the air for a brief time, before beginning to simply skim the surface. The kids, exhausted, finally got a chance to take in some oxygen before examining the situation. They were riding a strange, blue, fish-like creature with white stripes, a long snout, and several large fins on its back. They had never seen this creature, but whatever it was, it was swimming incredibly fast, for which they were grateful.

"Uh, excuse me...." began Sora, "thanks for saving us. But, who are you?"

"**What, you mean you don't recognize me?**" the monster replied.

The kids were confused. "Do we know you?" inquired TK.

"**Well, I guess I HAVE lost a couple thousand pounds since last time!**"

The kids then took a closer look. There was something familiar about this beast.

"..... Whamon?"  
  


**Chapter 5: Departure**

"**_DAMN!_******"

That's probably the cleanest word that escaped Pukumon's mouth after freeing himself after being embedded in the sand and dirt. He would have kicked something, had he legs to do it with. Something hit him. Hard. He didn't know WHAT it was, but one thing he DID know.

He was pissed.

"**_How did this happen??? I had them! ALL of them!!! Even the water mammal! They were at my mercy!!!_******" He was in an absolute rage. In a minute, he found he had company, in the form of several long, red, lobster-like Digimon. "**_Get outta here, Ebidramon!!!_******" he shouted to them, "**_Go find somebody else to bug!_******"

"**But Pukumon,**" the Ebidramon replied, "**We saw where the DigiDestined were headed!**"

"**_WHERE?!?!?!?!?_******" Pukumon demanded. His eyes were burning with hate.

"**A ways to the southeast, near the White Seas.**"

"**_Hmm....... this just gets better and better,_**__" said Pukumon, pondering. "**_I have an operative out there.... he should be able to hold them off long enough for me to....._******" He thought for a moment. He then contacted the other Dark Masters using his psychic link. "**_Hey, guys!_******"

"**_What is it, Pukumon?_******" replied SkullMammothmon.

"**_I screwed up, I lost 'em,_******" reported Pukumon, "**_But a few of my soldiers know where they're headed. A friend of mine there will hold them off long enough for me to get there and crush them!_******"

"**_Fish, you stupid?_******" questioned Boltmon.

"**_Pukumon, you are to remain there until we arrive to back you up!_******" ordered SkullMammothmon.

"**_NO! I'm going after them! They're in my element!! They don't stand a CHANCE!!!_******" replied Pukumon.

"**_That's what MetalSeadramon said..._******" muttered Gryphonmon.

"**_You FOOL, Pukumon, do not defy me!!! You cannot split this team up! You're about to make the same mistake as -_**__"

"**_- Then CATCH UP WITH ME, cuz I'm NOT WAITING!!!!!_******" retorted Pukumon. He then cut their connection and proceeded to swim in the direction of the Ebidramon, in pursuit of the DigiDestined.

"**_BLAST, that IDIOT!!!!!_******" screamed SkullMammothmon. He was absolutely furious! Had Pukumon forgotten what splitting up had done to the ORIGINAL Dark Masters? One thing was for sure, if Pukumon was there with them, SkullMammothmon wouldn't have let him survive past that "NO" part.

"**_... fine......._******" SkullMammothmon finally said, somewhat calmer, "**_LET him go! Let's just see how well he fares against those brats without our help!_******"

"**_Do you think he can win alone?_******" asked Gryphonmon.

"**_..... I don't know,_**__" answered SkullMammothmon, "**_I do know THIS, however: if he DOES manage to survive, he'll have HELL to pay!_******"

"**_What 'bout kids?_******" inquired Boltmon.

"**_I'm not certain. He's far too cocky. It's true, he IS more powerful than MetalSeadramon ever was. But still, he underestimates those chosen children. They've beaten stronger. VenomMyotismon, Piedmon, Diaboromon, even Apocalymon himself; all have fallen to these eight humans. And they're OLDER now, and most likely WISER. Then again, they know nothing about us, whereas we know EVERYTHING about them. And with the exception of the youngest, it has been quite a while since any of them have been on active duty. And not many of them are built for the water. ESPECIALLY not their Megas._**__"

"**_So, what are you saying, exactly?_******" asked the confused Gryphonmon.

"**_I'm saying that at this point, it could go either way. The balance is tipped in his favor for the time being, but barely. If he plays it smart, which ISN'T likely, he may be able to pull it off. All I know for certain is this: FOUR or ONE of us, those children better watch out for the DARK MASTERS!!!!!_**__"  
  


**Chapter 6: Return of an Old Friend**

"**Well....**" the Digimon acknowledged to the DigiDestined children, "**I guess you could say that.**"

"Wow........ Pardon me for saying this, Whamon, but....... uh......... you're..........." attempted Palmon, "..... smaller!"

"Yeah, what happened to you, big guy?" inquired Matt.

"**Oh, this? Aw, it's nothin', don't worry. Between that number MetalSeadramon did on me, and MaloMyotismon's corruption, it's just gotten tougher to reach my Ultimate level of Whamon yet****. This is my Champion form,**" he continued, "**For now, you can call me Dolphmon!**"

"Dolphmon, huh?" absorbed Tai, "Cool. I'm surprised though; all that time, and THIS is as far as you've gotten?"

"**Yeah, sucks, don't it?**" replied Dolphmon, with that air of sarcasm about him.

"Well, it sure doesn't seem to have hindered you much," offered Gabumon. "You still managed to take out a Mega Digimon!"

"**Yeah, well, I DID have the element of surprise on 'im,**" commented Dolphmon, "**And he's not down for the count. I just managed to keep him occupied long enough to get you guys out of there. I wouldn't be surprised if he was tailing us right now!**"

"Not to sound ungrateful, Dolphmon," began Agumon, "but where are you taking us?"

"**Oh, I'm bringing you to see your old friend!**"

"Old friend?" asked Biyomon.

"**Gennai.**"

"Oh yeah, that's right! Where is he???" inquired Izzy.

"**Oh, he moved!**" answered Dolphmon. "**What, he didn't invite you to his going-away party?**"

"Why would he move?" asked Patamon. "Was it cuz of the Dark Masters?"

"**Yes. They invaded his territory. If they had managed to find him, he would have been history. So he forwarded himself to somewhere new before they could discover his location. Otherwise, it would've been curtains for a housewarming party!**" he concluded, with Whamon's old love for bad jokes.

Joe looked worried. Gomamon wasn't getting any better. He was breathing somewhat normally now, but he still wasn't opening his eyes, or reacting to any call or touch. Pukumon. That ugly excuse for a goldfish had really done a number on him. "Uh, Wh.... er, Dolphmon," he stammered, "any chance of maybe HURRYING UP?!? Gomamon needs help, FAST!!!"

"**Sorry Joe,**" replied Dolphmon, "**I'm going as fast as I can, but this body just isn't built for passengers! I'll try to see if maybe I can take it up a notch, though.**"

"Thanks," said Joe weakly. He looked down at his Digimon partner. Poor little guy. This shouldn't have happened. He Digivolved to protect all of them. And what did he get out of it? He got hurt. Somehow, it just didn't seem fair. Ooh, that Pukumon better look out, cuz if Joe ever got his hands on him he'd-

"**Well, here we are!**" announced Dolphmon.

The kids looked up... to the left... to the right... behind... below............

Nothing.

"Uh.... Dolphmon?" Tai started, "Is this some kind of joke???"

"Yeah, I don't see a thing!" added Salamon.

"**Look further up, then,**" suggested Dolphmon.

And so they did. And what they saw surprised them.

A shadow in the clouds.

They made out what appeared to be a house within the clouds. So THAT'S why they couldn't find Gennai! They'd been looking in the wrong direction the whole time.

"So that's Gennai's mansion, huh?" inquired Gabumon, "Hm... not bad. Not many people are going to find him up there."

"..u..g....h.........r........" moaned Gomamon. Right away, Joe cut in. "Alright, enough GAWKING at it! The question now is how do we get up there?!?" Just then, his Digivice began to glow. As the others watched, their own Digivices began glowing as well. They then looked around to see a strange fog surround them.

"Oh man," cried Joe, "don't tell me Myotismon's here!"

"I don't believe this is him," replied Izzy. "This fog seems lighter... almost inviting....."

Then, they looked ahead to see a doorway materialize before them. They looked at the door, then at each other. Even considering all they had gone through as the DigiDestined, THIS was weird! Then, Dolphmon intervened. "**It's alright, it's Gennai's little way of saying 'come on in'.**" They finally decided they had nothing to lose. One by one, the kids and their Digimon entered the passageway. They then thought a second and turned around. "What about you, Dolphmon?" asked Biyomon.

"**Ach, you guys don't need me up there!**" answered Dolphmon, "**Besides, even if you did, then TOUGH! Ain't no way you're getting me up those stairs! Aw, don't worry, guys, if you need me, I'll have a telepathic link up to the mansion. But for the time being... BUH BYE, NOW!**"  
  


**Chapter 7: Just the Guy We've Been Looking For!**

"Ah, so you've made it!"

These words awaited the DigiDestined as they entered Gennai's new mansion in the clouds. Of course, these words were followed by more words: "Took ya long enough."

"Sorry, we would've been here sooner..." began Matt, "... but SOMEBODY forgot to give us directions!!!"

Soon, the kids noticed something... something didn't seem right about Gennai. What was it? Did he cut his hair? Did he have a new robe? And as they began to ponder just how long it actually HAD been, they realized the problem.

Gennai was old. REAL old.

"Hey, no offense Gennai, but did you just get out of the tub or something? How come you're all wrinkly again?" asked Mimi.

"Don't worry, none taken," reassured Gennai. "But no, the further deterioration of the DigiWorld has taken its toll on me. You see, the reason I was able to regain my youthfulness was because of my trips to the real world, where I could recharge my energy. But with the gate currently inaccessible to me, I've been weakening. My other copies, Benjamin, Gonzales, and the others have already lost power and been deleted. Since I'm the original, that'll be a lot tougher to do, but I'm still just as weak as the day you first met me."

"Gennai, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell us you moved?" asked TK.

"Sorry about that," the old man apologized, "My bad. I was so busy with everything else, everything went so fast, from the Dark Masters, to moving, to sending you your Digimon... I knew I was forgetting something."

"Oh jeez, how convenient!" mumbled Tai.

"Hmm..." Kari was gathering her surroundings. "... Nice place you've got, here!"

"Thanks, I didn't think it was too shabby myself!" replied Gennai. "Plus, I don't have to pay any rent! I mean, who's gonna wanna live up in a cloud?"

"Gennai!" called Joe. "Is there something you can do for Gomamon here???"

"Hmm, let me see," Gennai walked up and approached the sprawled out water mammal. He looked him over for a minute, then stood up, turned around, and flicked a switch on the wall.

Joe was expecting the lights to come on in that dark hallway across the room, but instead felt something bump his rump. He turned around to see a tank... a kind of large fish tank, the shape of... a bed, he supposed, with nothing in it but water. He then beckoned Joe to bring Gomamon to him. Joe considered for a second, then carefully scooped the creature up, placed him in Gennai's arms, and watched as Gennai placed him into the water. "What is that?" inquired Joe.

"It's a special formula of water; you won't find it just lying around in an ocean or anything," Gennai answered. "It contains nutrients and minerals, as well as special vaccines to help heal his injuries, yet enough oxygen to keep him breathing normally."

"How long until he's back to normal?" was Joe's obvious, yet important next question.

"Oh, don't worry, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes before he's back up on his... uh... feet. You're just lucky you got him here when you did; otherwise, it may have been too late. As it is, it'll be a while before he's FULLY recovered and repaired. Now, let's get to the other room; I believe you and your friends have some questions."

"... yeah," finally replied Joe. He let Gennai lead the way, as he looked back at his Digimon companion. He thought he saw a faint glimmer in his eye.

He finally entered the other room and sat down with the others, including a psychic-holographic projection of Dolphmon.

"Ok, kids," Gennai began, "I will now take any questions you may have."

"Ok, Gennai," Tai decided to start things off, "Our first question is: Who the heck ARE these guys?"

"Yeah," continued Sora, "and where'd they come from?"

"The creatures you have encountered are the new Dark Masters, though how they gained the rights to use such a trademark name is beyond me. They're 4 Megas who are very evil, and very deadly. They seem to be unique creatures, and any relation to the original Dark Masters has yet to be confirmed. As to WHERE they came from, your guess is as good as mine! With Oikawa's spirit power still forming a protective barrier around the Digital World, no sort of data corruption should have happened. On top of that, not that much time has passed here, and with the condition of the monsters after Davis and the others left, nobody should have reached any kind of Mega level yet. So whatever they are, they somehow got some kind of evolution booster, kind of like how your own Digimon Digivolved very quickly using the Tags, Crests, and Digivices. Whatever it was, it COULDN'T have been natural."

"Yeah, and it seems like they know us perfectly!" said Palmon. "They creamed us!"

"Gennai, how's the world holding up?" asked Matt.

"Not well, I'm afraid," sighed Gennai. "They've managed to take hold of the Digital World over ten times faster than the original Dark Masters, and made Oikawa's spirit power no more than an old legend. Furthermore, rather than simply containing the inhabitants of an area, they mutate them."

"Mutate them?"

"They'll cause a glitch in their Digivolution," explained Gennai. "Cause them to Digivolve one step further, a huge leap backward, or even change them to a different monster of the same level with similar attributes. In their confusion, they're much easier to manipulate and control. This makes less work for them, as these new Mutates will clear the area FOR them. Most have already been turned."

"**I was lucky; I managed to escape before they could ever find me,**" inserted Dolphmon.

"That's right," continued Gennai, "Otherwise, you may well have been encountering Pukumon's new pet Whamon, or at least something close."

"Gennai, these new guys are WAY stronger than Piedmon's gang of Dark Masters," stated Mimi.

"Yes, far TOO strong," added Izzy. "I'm afraid even if our 4 Megas were available, it may STILL not be enough to defeat them!"

"Yes, I know," replied Gennai. "But I have some good news, however: hold out your hands." The kids reached out to Gennai, as he placed small, golden objects, each with a colored center, into their hands. They recognized them immediately. "I've managed to reinstall the Crest program within you and your Digimon partners. However, there is very little energy available at this time, even from Azulongmon and the others, so they will need to remain portable for the time being. On the plus side, though, you should now be able to Digivolve normally to your Ultimate and Mega forms. Still, we may very well need more power. If only the Legenduarians would appear."

"Lujewha?" babbled Agumon.

"Long before we created your Digimon and Crests, we created 4 Digimon guardians; digital warriors, much like Azulongmon and the others, who, at the height of darkness, would go Mega in a flash of golden light, and forever more protect the land from evil. Unfortunately, the first batch we created had a glitch, and, thanks to Apocalymon, became the first wave of Dark Masters instead. Ironic; they became the very things they were sent to protect against. Now, I haven't been outside the program since MaloMyotismon attacked, but a rumor of sorts says that the error was fixed and repaired, but without the original bodies, the programs were installed into 4 existing sprites as vessels, who are now scattered across the DigiWorld. At a time like this, however, they should have emerged. So unless the rumor is false, my guess is that whoever the guardians are, they've either been deleted, mutated, or just don't know what they are yet."

"Gennai, how long do you think it will be before we can get back home?" asked Kari.

"I'm not certain, Kari," he replied. "We can't risk sending you home between battles, as we have yet to determine whether or not time has been disrupted or not, and if so then how. But don't worry, Davis and the others have already contacted me; they're covering for you in the real world."

"Thank goodness for small favors," stated Sora.

"Aw jeez..." muttered Joe, "This just gets more and more ridiculous."

"Hey, it can't be all bad!" said a voice from out of nowhere. They turned to see their favorite little white, purple-striped water mammal: Gomamon! "After all, look where it brought us!"

Joe couldn't believe it! He ran over and picked the animal up and gave him a great big hug. He was sure Gomamon would pull through, but in that way that he WASN'T so sure... you know what I mean. He then backed up and looked at him. He still had some bruises from the battle, but luckily the bleeding had receded. Still, he definitely looked worse for wear. So of course, Joe asked, "Gomamon, what're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in that waterbed relaxing and healing?"

"Hey, come on, Joe, I need to know what's going on here too!" replied Gomamon. "Especially if I'm going to-" he then tripped, and picked himself up, "-be helping you guys out! ESPECIALLY against that creep PUKUMON!!!"

"Whoa, no way, Gomamon," stated Joe. "You're takin' a breather for now!"

"Aw, but Joe!!!" whined Gomamon. You could still see that thirst to fight in his eyes.

"No buts, Little-G,"insisted Joe.

"I'm sorry, Gomamon..." began Gennai, "... but Joe's right. As much as we need the team together, you won't be any help to anyone if you can't even hold yourself up. The bath gave you a jump start at recovery, but at the length of time you were in there, that's ALL it did. It will take time to heal ALL your injuries."

"**Don't worry, little fish,**" reassured Dolphmon. "**I'm certain the others and I can keep these creatures from doing anymore harm while you reju-**" He stopped. "**Wait.**" The others became still, as they watched his projected image looking in all directions. Finally, he seemed to spot something to its right. He then looked up, as though looking at the children, and shouted out what he could of "**HURRY!!!**" before being blown over and losing contact with his image in the home. Something had just attacked Dolphmon!

The kids began to run outside, when Gennai stopped them. "STOP!!!" he called, as the kids turned around. "You now have 3 tasks ahead of you: you must find and awaken the dormant Legenduarians, you must eliminate this new threat of these all-different Dark Masters, and above all else... be careful."

The kids nodded, and continued to run, until Joe stopped. He then turned around. Gomamon was directly behind him, following the group. "Gomamon," began Joe, "what part of 'relax and rejuvenate' didn't you register?!?"

"The part where I'm not allowed to join in the fight and help my friends!!!" replied Gomamon. The 2 looked at each other for a second, until finally, Joe gave a light, shameful nod. Gomamon smiled, and kept running out with the others to the front porch of the mansion. "Good luck," called Gennai after them.

They looked down into the waters to see Dolphmon and Pukumon duking it out. Guess who was winning. Dolphmon kept fighting, however; although he had no advantage or chance of victory, he was holding his own surprisingly well. Finally, Pukumon grabbed Dolphmon's snout with his left hand. As much as Dolphmon struggled, he wasn't about to squirm out of Pukumon's grip. Pukumon grinned as he lifted up his right hand, in preparation to strike. As he had reached the stretch his arm could cock back, something caught his eye... lots of things, actually. He turned and looked up, to see the DigiDestined, standing on a cloud next to a floating house. He didn't TRY to make any kind of sense out of it. He just floated there on top of the water, watching them.

Tai began to speak to the group. "Ok, guys, it has to start somewhere, and THIS is it! This is where we begin our quest anew! This is where we eliminate the evil!! THIS is where we show that the eight of us have still got it!!!" The group continued to stand, ready as ever for the battle, confidence building within them once more. Joe, ready to help those who are depending on them right now. Sora, feeling great emotion towards her loved ones, as well as those unfortunate enough to have met their fate already. Mimi, showing genuine pureness of heart in doing what she knows is right. Izzy, thirsting for information as to the state of things and as to what awaits them. Kari, innocent as ever, willing to give more OF herself than she would give TO herself. TK, his spark of hope renewed, as he felt the desire to win. Matt, happy to be among his friends, yet sad that enough friends had to be hurt for it to get to this point once more. Tai, knowing that this is where they go above and beyond destiny. And Tai's last words would set the pace for the rest of their trip.****

  
  


******"_The DigiDestined are BACK!!!!!!!!!!_****"**

  
  
  
  


**To Be Continued.....**


	3. Part 3 - The Brimey Deep

Dark Masters: Generation 2

Author's Note: This story is based on information available as of now. Several of the elements I use in this story are my own guesses or personal opinions. Many things I've changed, such as some popular Digivolution lineage theories (except, of course, those that are already common DD'ed evolutions appearing on the show; Gomamon still becomes Ikkakumon, and Garudamon didn't mysteriously become Aquilamon's Ultimate instead), I've changed just to give it a cooler feel. Also, as I didn't much care for the idea, you can throw away that whole "25 Years Later" scenario from the last episode of 02, including the part about EVERYBODY worldwide getting their own Partner-Digimon. So don't get on my ass about continuity.  
  


Part 3: The Brimey Deep

  
  


Chapter 1: Round 1

"What the...?"

This could not even BEGIN to describe Pukumon's feelings at the time. He was just about to pound Dolphmon into oblivion, when all of a sudden, a small pebble or something hit his head. He looked up to see the DigiDestined peering down at him from a ledge in the clouds. He looked a little more closely... a house? Supporting itself in the air? Finally, it hit him. "Gennai...!" he muttered. It all made sense now. This explains the difficulty they'd had finding him; they'd been looking in the wrong direction the whole time! Nevertheless, this wasn't about to stop him from destroying the DigiDestined!

And with that, he waved his hand. And as he did this, the DigiDestined began to be shaken and tossed about. The kids were caught way off guard. Even the Digimon were taken aback. "What," shouted Pukumon, "d'you think just because I control the ocean water means I don't control EVAPORATED water too?!? You have no idea what you're dealing with!!!" as he tossed them around like juggling balls almost psionically.

Unfortunately, he forgot something.

"Dolphin Kick!!!!" shouted Dolphmon, as he lifted his tailfin and proceeded to swing and strike the Mega Digimon. The force of the blow caused Pukumon to fly back, releasing his grip on Dolphmon, and weakening his control of the fog.

Finally, some of the Digimon got themselves together. Patamon finally got control of flying through these conditions. He looked ready to fight. Luckily, he and Salamon had managed to go Mega before they left last time. He and TK looked at each other and nodded. "Ok, Patamon," shouted TK, "get ready to Warp-Digivol-"

"No!" yelled Matt, "Let US do the fighting, bro! If we fail, or more bad guys come before we recover, you guys are our only hope!"

"He's right," agreed Tai. "We'll at least get him off guard, and if we need you, you'll know it." He then looked down at Pukumon, and called to Agumon. "Ready, buddy?"

"Yep!" replied Agumon.

"Ready!" yelled Gabumon.

And with a glow from their Digivices, a shine from their Crests, and a soft light from their bodies, Tai and Matt watched proudly, as they saw something they hadn't seen in a LONG time, as Agumon and Gabumon began to flash with energy!

"Agumon, Warp-Digivolve to...... WarGreymon!!!!!!"

"Gabumon, Warp-Digivolve to...... MetalGarurumon!!!!!!"

And with that, the balance of power was now tipped. Two small Rookie Digimon had skipped through 3 whole stages of evolution, and were now at their Mega level. Where the tiny, orange lizard once stood, there now stood the megapower of a fully-Digivolved warrior in a suit of golden armor. And the weak horned dog was now replaced with an incredibly powerful armored wolf with breath like the arctic winds. They wasted no time in taking the offensive against their floundery foe.

"Terra Force!!!!!!" shouted WarGreymon, as he brought his 2 claw weapons together, then brought them apart, extreme focused energy flaring between them. He lifted it, the ball of energy burning like the sun, then tossed it at the enemy. Pukumon jumped out of the water and out of the way of the assault, but was still minorly singed in the process. He cried not, however; he was ready to take whatever they could dish out. And he had better be, too, because MetalGarurumon was ready with a follow-up. "Metal Wolf Claw!!!!!!" the beast howled as he took a deep breath, as much as his lungs could hold, then released as he launched it back out at Pukumon as a lethal ice blast. Pukumon dropped back in the water, as the blast passed overhead. He snickered. "Are you TRYING to miss me?!?" he taunted, "That was off by a mile!!!"

"Was it?" replied MetalGarurumon.

Pukumon, shaken by this, turned to see the freezing blast hit the very water he was swimming in. He saw the water freeze. As it began to expand rapidly, he had no time to evacuate as it came toward him. He only had time to lift his arms before him, bracing for impact. Within a fraction of an instant, he was completely frozen within a patch of solid ice. That was it. They had won. The kids cheered, as the 2 Megas prepared to clean up after themselves. "WarGreymon, finish him off, and let's get out of here." said MetalGarurumon.

"Gee, thanks, I get the leftovers?" joked WarGreymon. "Oh well, may as well make this quick. Mega Claw!!!!!!" he cried as he lifted his claws in the air together, and began to spin, a tornado of destructive power. He then aimed himself at the frozen fishsicle and moved in. He began to drill through the ice. He was surprised how long it took; either he was losing his touch, or MetalGarurumon made it a lot thicker than usual. Nonetheless, he continued probing, deeper and deeper, toward his frozen foe, the "creamy filling", if you will. Finally, he reached the completely stiff Pukumon. "See ya later, Fishkab-"

He'd only managed to take a small chip out of the fish's back before a swarm of small, white creatures leapt out of the water and began to attack WarGreymon! They covered his body, slowing his spin and eating away at his armor. Finally, he was forced to come to a stop, and now that he was still, they were all able to see the creatures better. They were almost completely skeletal!

"Oh, great!" cried Tentomon, "Those are Coelamon!" Izzy looked at his digital partner, then grabbed Kari's Terminal. He brought them up on their Digimon Analyzer. Yup, they were Coelamon, alright. "They're Ancient Fish Digimon of the Data type," updated Izzy, "and their attack is Fossil Bite! Alone, they're harmless. But in packs..."

"Yeah, I think we get it!" interrupted Kari.

"WARGREYMON!!!" shouted Tai. He was frightened for his combat companion. He watched as, armor almost completely demolished, WarGreymon fell to his knees, breaking a chunk of ice off the block in which Pukumon was contained. Salamon, dissatisfied with sitting around watching her owner's brother's Digimon get demolished, decided to join the fray. She leapt from the cloud, and shouted her cry.

"Salamon, Digivolve to... Gatomon!!!!"

Now back to her usual state, her Champion form of Gatomon, she continued to fly through the air, aiming herself at the parasites eating away at her fellow partner. "Lightning Paw!!!!" she cried as she scratched and punched and otherwise attacked the Coelamon, but she was unable to do much good, as there were far too many to handle on her own. Finally, unable to hold himself up, WarGreymon collapsed, De-Digivolving all the way back, past his Rookie stage, to his In-Training stage: a pink, blob-like head named Koromon. "KOROMON!!!!!" Tai once more called to his Digimon. He then looked over at Pukumon. He was moving. Well, BEING moved would better describe it, as the Coelamon began to swim away with their frozen master in hand. "Hey, they're getting away!" he shouted.

"I'm goin' in!" announced Gomamon, as he leapt forward. He didn't get far, however, before being dragged right back again. He turned around to see Joe holding onto his tail quite tightly. "Joe, what're you doing??? I've gotta help them!!!"

"No way, Gomamon," replied Joe, "you're staying right here!"

"But Joe, I'm the only one who can catc-"

"NO!" insisted Joe. "You're still injured. You're not gonna be any help to anyone if you collapse. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you get hurt again!"

While Joe and Gomamon argued, Matt decided to take action. "MetalGarurumon, go after them!" he commanded. MetalGarurumon nodded, and proceeded to pursue the monsters, followed by Gatomon. Unfortunately, this was short-lived, as the Coelamon lifted the block of ice WarGreymon had broken off and tossed it at the little cat. Just before it hit her, the flying wolf dashed in the way, acting as a shield to the far-weaker Champion Digimon. It slammed into MetalGarurumon with a thud, knocking him out of the air and into Gatomon. As they plunged toward the sea, MetalGarurumon flashed as he lost all energy, and De-Digivolved back to Tsunomon, his In-Training form. As the kids watched, Koromon, Gatomon and Tsunomon began to sink into the shiny blue depths. They watched in horror. Tai attempted to dive in after them, but Palmon used her Poison Ivy to hold him up in the clouds. At this point, Gomamon decided it was time to take charge of the situation. "Marching Fishes!!!" he cried. In a second, the kids began to see a large shadow appear below the surface of the water, followed by the emergence of several small, colorful fish, who formed a bed that raised the 2 fallen In-Training Digimon from the depths of the sea. Tai and Matt jumped down, cushioned by the bed, and ran over to their partners.

"Koromon, are you ok?" asked Tai, frightened.

"... yup," replied Koromon weakly, "looks like you're stuck with me a little longer."

"Lucky me!" laughed Tai.

"How about you, Tsunomon?" followed Matt.

"yes, i'm fairly decent," he answered.

Tai then turned around. "Gatomon?" There was no response. They looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. "GATOMON!!!" cried Kari.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." called a voice out of nowhere. They finally saw Gatomon riding Dolphmon over toward the group. "It'll take more than a pack of skeletal fish, a flying metal dog, and a big chunk of ice to put ME down!"

"That's great to hear, Gatomon," said Joe, suddenly. "Meanwhile, though, those nasty fish got away with Pukumon!" Gomamon looked up at his human partner. He'd never seen Joe this mad or disappointed before. "Boy, this day just keeps getting BETTER AND BETTER!!!!!"  
  


Chapter 2: The Last Straw

"ggggrrRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Needless to say, Pukumon was more than a little ticked off. This was the SECOND time those kids had gotten the better of him. He just couldn't figure it out. He was stronger than them; what was he doing wrong? He was being careless, THAT'S what was wrong! And Gryphonmon had said that playing GAMES with them was all the fun! Well, he was DONE toying with them! He wasn't going to let something like that happen again!

Suddenly, a dark, shadowlike batch of bubbles entered his lair. The Coelamon, who had been treating and bandaging Pukumon, began to scatter, as the bubbles began to merge. They combined to form a horrible, blue and black creature with long arms, a pair of red eyes, razorsharp teeth, and tentacles coming out of his back. "Hey there, sir! How've ya been?"

"It took you long enough to get here!!" grunted Pukumon. "And if you can't already tell just by LOOKING at me, I'VE HAD BETTER DAYS!!!"

"Well, look at it this way, sir," replied the creature, "You're still standing, aren't you?" with a giant grin. Pukumon snarled. Considering he had no legs, he didn't find his comment amusing in the least. If it weren't for the fact that this creature was among the most fearsome fighters of the seas, he would have deleted him already for his smartass attitude.

"Enough," Pukumon said. "Look, there's a REASON I sent for you, and it WASN'T to hear your opinion! There's a bunch of kids out there... HUMANS... they'll probably be coming after me. I need you to destroy them for me."

"Master, that's... ALL???" he laughed. "You ask so little of me!"

"DON'T..." Pukumon boomed, "... get so cocky. I took them on myself, and look what happened!!!" The beast wiped the smirk off his face. "Now, I don't care HOW you do it, just DESTROY THE DIGIDESTINED!!!!!"

"I promise master, I will not let you down!" the creature guaranteed, slapping his master on the back... right where WarGreymon had taken a chip out of him. Pukumon cringed, then clenched his teeth at the water demon as he left the same way he entered. As the swarm of bubbles exited his quarters, Pukumon sat, deep in thought. The creature didn't stand a chance. Of this he was certain. However, he would buy Pukumon enough time to heal, and at least weaken the Digimon until he got his shot. If he could finish the waterdwellers, the other Dark Masters could easily handle the rest. He grinned. Looked like Gryphonmon would have somebody to play with after all.  
  


Chapter 3: Battle Plan

The DigiDestined kids were also deep in thought. They had finally reached land, but Pukumon was still out there. No doubt, he was probably injured during the battle. This was the perfect time to strike; BEFORE he could heal. Unfortunately, Pukumon was underwater now, and this was going to seriously reduce their Digi-manpower. Their 2 main Megas were now out of the question, as it would take a while for Koromon and Tsunomon to Digivolve back to their rookie levels, let alone Mega. Gomamon, their only main water Digimon, was too highly injured to fight. Patamon and Gatomon almost killed themselves last time they went Mega to fight Cherubimon. Dolphmon couldn't use a Digivice or Digi-Egg to Digivolve further. And the rest weren't exactly built for the water. At this point, they were at a huge disadvantage.

"Well, come on guys, we've got to think of SOMETHING!" the impatient Matt finally stated. "We're not getting anything accomplished sitting here on our butts."

"Be patient, Matt," replied Izzy, "We've got to think this through slowly and logically. We can't just rush in and get ourselves killed, we need a plan."

"Just let ME handle it, guys!" suggested the ever-persistent Gomamon, "I'll teach that lousy guppy a thing or two abo-"

"Gomamon, for the millionth time, NO!" interrupted Joe. "You're in no condition to fight. Now cut it out! Quit trying to be a hero."

Gomamon looked down shamefully. If one didn't know his sense of pride better, they'd have sworn he was whimpering.

"Well, let's break it down as to who can even FIGHT," suggested Sora. "We're on a whole new field here, so we're gonna need to do this strategically."

"Well, I'll go," offered Tentomon. "As an insect, I can double as a water beetle, and fry him out with my electric blasts!"

"I'll go too!" added Palmon. Mimi looked over at her, unsure as to how exactly Togemon could function underwater. "Come on, Mimi," Palmon ensured Mimi, "He can't do it alone! He's gonna need help, and I'm about all that's left!" Mimi finally nodded.

"Ok, then who else?" asked Matt. "There's really not anybody else left that can fight!"

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned around, to see Patamon up in the air, smiling. "I'll take him on!"

"No way, Patamon," replied TK, "we can't risk it. Remember how much it took out of you the LAST time you went Mega?"

"It's WORTH it to destroy the Dark Masters!" answered Patamon. "And besides, who said anything about going Mega? I took on Piedmon as my Ultimate and WON, for the record!"

"I'll go too, then!" inserted Gatomon.

"No, Gatomon, you stay here," replied Patamon. "If I use up too much energy in this fight, we'll need you ready to Digivolve."

"Oh... alright....." she whined.

"Hey, don't forget ME, you guys!" The team turned the other way now, to see Dolphmon waving his fins in the air. They had forgotten all about him!

"Are you sure you're okay to fight?" asked Gomamon.

"Sure, I'm great!" he replied. He WAS still strong. He had just fought Pukumon to a standstill and survived. And the fact that he was built for the water was a BIG plus. He then HAD to push it and add, "No offense, little fish, but I'M not the one who just had a huge spike stickin' in my gut." Gomamon frowned.

"Alright, it looks like we have a strike team then," stated Izzy.

"Yeah... so....." started Matt, "... what next?"

"Well," answered Izzy, "I'm going to try something. I'm going to try to connect directly to Tentomon's hard drive, so we can monitor the battle through his optic sensors..."

"WhoawhoaWHOA!!!" shrieked Tentomon, "Why do you need MY eyes?!? Will it hurt???"

"You won't feel a THING, Tentomon," Izzy assured him. "... as long as you don't fidget. Anyway, while I work on that, the rest of you guys should make a raft. That way, in case they need our help, we'll be right there."

"Alright, then it's settled," said Tai, conclusively. "Izzy, hurry with that connection. Digimon, get ready to fight, and the rest of you, get to work on that raft!"

And all the while, bit by bit, Gomamon's little heart was breaking.  
  


Chapter 4: The Demon of the Deep

"We ready to go?"

Yes, Tai, as a matter of fact, the team had just finished the raft. Izzy was making a few slight adjustments to the Terminal program, using his laptop, and it was soon functional. The team looked on the screen, and saw themselves looking down at something; it had worked - they were now seeing exactly what Tentomon was seeing! The kids and Digimon all applauded Izzy on his fine job. So with that, they set the raft into the sea, aided by Dolphmon and some of Gomamon's Marching Fishes.

They checked their supplies. They had everything they needed. And using the Terminal, they managed to locate a general area for Pukumon. They then, with Gennai's blessings, head out to sea. They sailed quite a while. There was hardly any wind, and the seas were incredibly calm. At this point, one can't help but get a bit suspicious. It was way too quiet when one considered the battle that was to come.

Finally, Dolphmon halted. Using his echolocation, and Izzy's map, they had finally managed to find Pukumon's lair. They then got the Digimon ready to fight.

"Tentomon, watch out for yourself," warned Izzy. "And remember, you're our eyes and ears at this point, so be sure to try to take in everything that's going on."

"Uh, Izzy," replied Tentomon, "I don't think that'll be too much of a problem, considering I'M gonna be the one in the middle of it all!"

"Palmon..." whispered Mimi, beginning to shed a tear, "... please..... be careful."

"Don't worry, Mimi," replied Palmon. "I'm coming back. Count on it!"

"Patamon, be sure to take a deep breath before you go down." TK requested. "We need you to save as much strength as possible before Digivolving."

"No sweat," said Patamon confidently. "This'll be a piece of cake!"

"Dolphmon..." Joe started, "... we can't thank you enough for everything you've done. You're taking a huge risk right now."

"Aw come on..." started Dolphmon, "Don't make me swat ya for gettin' all mushy! I know what I have to do to save this world, and that's that!" Joe grinned.

"Alright, everybody," Gomamon shouted, "Get ready to go down!" And with that, both Izzy's and Mimi's Digivices glowed, as did their Digimon, as they prepared to go to the next level.

"Tentomon, Digivolve to... Kabuterimon!!!!"

"Palmon, Digivolve to... Togemon!!!!"

And so, before them stood 2 great Champion Digimon. One a giant blue beetle, the other a large cactus with boxing gloves and a snappy wit to her. Patamon then drew a large breath, much as he would to prepare for his Boom Bubble attack. Dolphmon called back to the children, "Catch ya on the flip side!" as they all dove in. Several of the children slapped their foreheads or drooped their heads in disbelief that even someone like DOLPHMON would actually SAY something like that.

Izzy then called up the monitoring program he had connected to Tentomon. After a few short seconds, the picture began to show up. Sure enough, every little thing Kabuterimon saw was showing up perfectly, even underwater. It was a beautiful view... if you consider dark water without a single fish or any sign of life beautiful. "Kabuterimon to kids... Kabuterimon to kids..." said Kabuterimon to the kids, using Izzy's link-up program, "So far, everything seems pretty quie-"

He couldn't utter another syllable before the image on Izzy's terminal began to shake and scramble. The kids could hear explosions, and saw the Digimon being tossed in every which direction. They could make out strange, black bubbles floating in a sort of pattern. Each kid was asking what was going on. Among them was Izzy; "Kabuterimon, what just happened?!?"

Kabuterimon shook it off and looked in the direction of the bubbles. The Digimon, as well as the kids, watched as they began to take form. It took the shape of a dark black and blue creature with deadly, razorsharp teeth, long white tentacle claws, 2 red eyes, batwings on its head, and a dark white cape. Izzy opened a separate window on the Terminal to find out some answers.

"I'm still getting used to this new Analyzer program..." Izzy mumbled as he waited for the program to boot. Finally, it activated, and by using Kabuterimon's optic sensors, the Digimon Analyzer beeped as it found information on this strange new creature. "Its name is MarineDevimon. It's a powerful Virus-type Sea Animal Digimon. His attack, Darkness Water, turns him into a swarm of black, venomous bubbles, making it nearly impossible to attack!"

"MARINE.... Devimon?????" squeezed out Matt. "Man, is it just me, or does this just get more and more RIDICULOUS???"

"If it's a Demon Digimon, that just means we have to be all the more careful!" stated TK, knowing full-well the power of any Digimon with the prefix Devi- in it.

Patamon began the strikeback against this new creature. "Boom Bubble!!!" he cried, as he released every bit of air he had in the form of a veritable fireball. Unfortunately, under the water it became fairly useless, as it became regular bubbles that didn't even cause the beast to so much as blink as they sprinkled across his chest. He looked down, grinned, snickered, and then went into action. "Darkness Water!!!!!" he called, as he turned into a swarm of deadly bubbles, and began heading for the poor, little, orange, batwinged Digimon. Togemon attempted a counterattack, crying "Lightspeed Jabbing!!!!" as she punched at the bubbles, to no avail. For everyone she popped, 2 replaced it. Even Dolphmon tried an assist, using its Dolphin Kick attack to swat at the dark swarm, but ended up having just as much luck as Togemon. Certainly, this enemy seemed unstoppable.

"Geez..." started Joe, "... where's a MarineANGEmon when you need one?"

Patamon heard this, and put on his gameface. "Looks like a REGULAR Angemon'll have to do!" he burbled under the water, as he began to glow, and feathers of power began to shoot out of him. And as TK's D3 activated, Patamon took it to the next level.

"Patamon, Digivolve to... Angemon!!!!"

And with that, Patamon traded his leather batwings for feathered angel wings. He gained a battle staff, ready for action. And he now had a metallic helmet shielding his eyes. Angemon was born again. As MarineDevimon continued relentlessly toward him, Angemon wasted no time going on the defensive. He used his powers to extend the reach of his mask down the rest of his face, down to his chin, to cover his mouth, and then extended his staff. "Angel Rod!!!!" he shouted as he began to twirl it very fast in his hands, spinning much like a fan. As MarineDevimon continued ahead, and reached his target, he was suddenly stopped against the surface of Angemon's staff. Dolphmon then came in for the assist. "Pulse Blast!!!!" he cried, as he turned his spout in the direction of his enemy from behind Angemon. He then fired an extremely powerful and concentrated blast of pressurized water into Angemon's staff's circle of rotation. The result was a supercharged upgrade to the staff's already powerful fan effect, as the stream went completely through, shooting the blast directly into the path of the patch of bubbles, and launching the enemy bubbles back uncontrollably. Finally, the enemy pulled itself back together, into its physical form. He looked around. Between Angemon, Kabuterimon, Dolphmon, and Togemon, he was surrounded. He still snickered, however.

"Well well, looks like Pukumon was right," he stated. "You ARE good, I'll give you that much. But you're still no match for ME!" And as the Digimon watched, his forehead began to shift. As it wiggled, the DigiDestined, still monitoring the battle through Kabuterimon, watched in horror as something emerged from above its eyes: a THIRD eye, even redder than the other 2!!! "Evil Wind!!!!!" he bellowed as the eye launced a terribly large and intense, winding blast of red energy directly at Angemon and Dolphmon. The blast sent them both crashing to the ocean floor. At the surface, TK screamed.

Gomamon became increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. "They need me!!!"

Joe sighed and shook his head. "NO, Gomamon, it's WAY too dangerous. You'll get yourself killed! We can't afford that right now! I can't afford that!!! You mean too much to me to just let you go ahead on a suicide run!"

"But..." Gomamon started, but then stopped himself, knowing full well that this argument was the one battle he couldn't win; but just because he was stuck watching didn't mean he had to like it.

Meanwhile, down below, the battle continued. As the 2 blast-stricken were recovering, MarineDevimon resumed his attack on the other 2. Togemon began to spin and launch her spines at the aquatic foe, as she cried, "Needle Spray!!!!" But it was highly ineffective, as the majority of the quills were blocked by his armor-like claws. The few that managed to get through barely phased him. He then extended his claw and proceeded to swat her away as though she were a measly insect. The insect coming from behind, however, was NOT so measly. As Kabuterimon approached, MarineDevimon turned its head and shot another claw right at him. The claw grabbed Kabuterimon's neck, and began to strangle him. As Kabuterimon choked, he managed to grab hold of the claw with its 4 arms, and sent an electric charge through his own body, down MarineDevimon's claws, then to MarineDevimon himself, who screamed in pain, then proceeded to release the bug, who now coughed uncontrollably. As MarineDevimon, shook off the shock, still smoking, he now turned his attention to Angemon, who had just picked himself up off the floor. He was coming at him shouting "Hand of Fate!!!!" But MarineDevimon was ready. As Angemon prepared to strike, he shot one of his claws out and grasped Angemon's fist, just as he was releasing its energy. The result was a backlash that sent Angemon once again flying. Kabuterimon flew in once more. Again, MarineDevimon gained a firm grip on the insect. But he was no fool. This time, before he could get zapped, he swung the bug around, then slammed it into a patch of coral. When the dust cleared, he was motionless. The situation had gone from bad to worse, as all 4 Digimon were down for the count.

Up above, the kids were cringing. Their Digimon were taking such a bad beating. Izzy was starting to lose his readings from Kabuterimon. Mimi was crying, knowing that Togemon was in a huge amount of trouble right now. TK was slamming his fists around, as Matt tried to settle him down. And Joe was holding Gomamon in his arms, looking down over the edge of the raft. Suddenly, Gomamon mumbled something.

Joe squinted, then looked down at his Digimon and said, "Did you just say Ma-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Joe was thrown back by a school of Marching Fishes. As he fell to his back, Gomamon broke free of his grasp and dove into the water. The others turned and tried to stop him, but they couldn't possibly react fast enough. As he plunged into the sea, Joe picked himself up, and used his Digivice to communicate with Gomamon. He was furious. "Gomamon, get back here NOW!!!!!"

"No way, Joe, they need me!"

"No, we need you HERE!!! You NEED to heal!!! Otherwise-"

"-I'll get hurt again?" finished Gomamon. "Joe, listen, I know you care about me, and you want to make sure I'm safe, but you NEED to let me do this!"

"But Gom-"

"No, Joe, you LISTEN!" shouted Gomamon. Joe was shocked. "Those guys are down there, fighting for us all! Including Dolphmon, who KNOWS he doesn't possibly have enough power to beat a guy like Pukumon! If I'm sitting up here twiddling my paws, what good am I doing?" Joe was silent. "Joe, your Crest represents Reliability. Now, if those guys down there can't count on us, what good are we doing?" Gomamon continued, "Joe, if I go down there, I may get myself killed. But if I DON'T go, all the others WILL get killed!!! ... Is that what you want, Joe? ... sacrifice 4 friends to make sure 1 stays out of trouble?"

Joe was deeply pained, as Gomamon finished; "You tell me you wouldn't do the same, and I'll call you a liar." Joe looked down, ashamed. He had been so selfish. In protecting his own Digimon, he was practically sacrificing those of his friends. He wanted to save 1 creature, but would have let thousands of others die without thinking twice. He had forgotten the whole purpose of their coming back: to SAVE the Digital WORLD! Finally, as he saw his Digimon staring at him from beneath the surface of the water, he gave a nod. Gomamon smiled, and with his troop of fish, dove down to battle.

And as Joe's Digivice began to light up, Joe whispered, "Just please, be careful, little buddy."

Back to the battle below, Dolphmon had just picked himself back up, and was going on the offensive. "Dolphin Kick!!!!" he shouted as he once again swung his tailfin at the creature. He landed the strike right in MarineDevimon's gut. He cringed, bent over, and grabbed at his stomach. As Dolphmon prepared to move in for another shot, MarineDevimon launched his back 2 paws at him. They hit with a horrible force, slashing Dolphmon in the process. As Dolphmon spun and flew back, MarineDevimon followed up by shouting "Dark Deluge!!!!!", heaving a dark, flaming stream from his lungs which scorched his opponent on contact. He slammed into the rock wall above the entrance to the cave MarineDevimon had popped out of. He couldn't move. Dolphmon was now at MarineDevimon's mercy. MarineDevimon cackled. "Heh heh heh... Well, so much for COMPETITION!!!" he taunted. "Kind of a shame, really... it was fun. But now, time to say-"

"Buh bye, now!!!" called a voice from behind him, just as he felt something slam into his back. He yelped in pain, then turned to see what had just hit him. It was Ikkakumon! Above the surface, Joe actually cracked a smile. He was doing it. MarineDevimon frowned, and he could be heard whispering through clenched teeth, "YOU!!!!!" Ikkakumon was a bit shaken by this. Something seemed strangely familiar about him all of a sudden. Not because he had fought a MarineDevimon back in the real world with Patamon and Armadillomon, but something more personal... from longer ago... Was it his eyes? His teeth? His ferocity? His... tentacles... like a... Gesomon on steroids.....? He then shook it off, realizing this wasn't the time, and continued his assault. "Harpoon Torpedo!!!!" he called, as he launched the horn on his head, much like a depth charge. MarineDevimon also got himself together, then opened his third eye and bellowed, "Evil Wind!!!!!" as he fired his optic blast. The missile horn cut straight through the beam, its sleek surface repelling the energy and forcing it to go around it, dispersing the energy. MarineDevimon wouldn't give up; he kept up the blast as long as he could, but the torpedo just kept coming. Just when it was about 2 feet from MarineDevimon, the outer shell of the horn split, exposing the explosive charge inside to the energy of MarineDevimon's ray. MarineDevimon was caught in the resulting explosion, causing him to instantly burst into his Darkness Water mode, and he was dividing himself among all of the Digimon now.

Dolphmon, however, had no intension of letting him pull that trick again. "Pulse Blast!!!!" he carkled as he sent a sonic wave at the fleet of bubbles. The bubbles froze in place, and began to move back together. Kabuterimon then joined the fray, crying, "Electro Shocker!!!!" as he tensed up, then sent a massive thunderball at the patch of black. As he suspected, the electricity conducted quite well, as MarineDevimon no longer had the energy to keep himself apart, and screamed with pain as he merged back to his physical self. Togemon then wasted no time charging the enemy. MarineDevimon turned to strike with his 4 tentacles. As each one came, Togemon punched it out, smashing all 4 of them, then proceeded to give him a fierce uppercut to the jaw that sent him flying.

"YES!!!" Joe shouted, "Way to go, guys!!!!"

MarineDevimon was now on his last 2 limbs. He was wheezing. Finally, the golden armorlike apparatus on his chest began to glow, followed by all 3 eyes. He let out a ferocious howl, as the kids and Digimon watched THOUSANDS of tentacle claws pop out of his back, and immediately lash out in the direction of the Digimon. Angemon and Ikkakumon teamed up to take him out once and for all.

"Ikkakumon, cover me; I'm going in!!!" ordered Angemon. Ikkakumon nodded. Angemon then swam in for the kill. Using his Angel Rod, he spun, struck, swiped, slashed, and otherwise knocked away every single claw in his path. Ikkakumon assisted, launching rocket after rocket, taking out patches at a time of claws. Finally, Angemon was almost close enough for the final blow. Ikkakumon launched one final Harpoon Torpedo directly at MarineDevimon's chest, taking out the gold apparatus. As MarineDevimon flinched, Angemon moved in, swam up, and with every ounce of his power, plunged his staff deep through MarineDevimon's third eye. As every one of his tentacles exploded, he screamed his last scream, cursed his last curse, then went limp for just an instant before turning into a huge patch of black bubbles. The DigiDestined watched with pride as every last bubble popped, leaving nothing but pure, blue sea. MarineDevimon was finished.

The kids and Digimon on the raft all cheered and cried. Joe even shed a tear. "Well, little buddy... you did it."

The DigiDestined didn't have much time to celebrate, however. For just as they were congratulating their victory, the cave exploded. Nobody could see a thing. Even Dolphmon's sonar couldn't penetrate the cloud of rock and dust that now engulfed them. When the coast finally cleared, there stood Pukumon. Fire burned in his eyes like never before. Sora and Mimi shrieked. The Digimon had better be ready.

"Kabuterimon," called Izzy through the commlink, "it's time!" Kabuterimon acknowledged.

"Togemon, get ready!" cried Mimi.

"TK,"began Angemon, "I think I can handle this guy as Ultimate, WITHOUT having to go Mega, but it's your call."

"Well," replied TK, "if you think so, then I believe in you. You've got the power within you. Go for it!"

The group then turned to Joe, who was looking down at his feet. "Gomamon's right," he was saying, "... this world's in danger. And in order to save it, we're GOING to get hurt in the process. Everybody's relying on us..." He lifted his head. "... and we can't let them down!!!"

"That's my Joe!!!" laughed Ikkakumon. Joe grinned. "Go for it, Ikkakumon."

And with that, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, and TK's Crests of Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, and Hope began to glow as their respective Digvices or D-3's fed them power. The Digimon glowed their respective colors, and Digivolved into Ultimate.

"Kabuterimon, Digivolve to.... MegaKabuterimon!!!!!"

"Togemon, Digivolve to.... Lillymon!!!!!"

"Ikkakumon, Digivolve to.... Zudomon!!!!!"

"Angemon, Digivolve to.... MagnaAngemon!!!!!"

And their they stood. The blue-exoskeletoned beetle replaced by the red-shelled, grand-horned insect. The fighting cactus replaced by an almost dainty daisy. The white walrus replaced by the hammer-wielding third-walrus, third-dog, third-turtle. And the staff-wielding angel of truth replaced by the sword-wielding, visor-shielded, metal-armored angel of justice. All were Digivolved, and all were ready to fight. And along with Dolphmon, they prepared for what could be the fight of their lives; against Pukumon, the self-proclaimed "destroyer of the depths".

And he snickered.  
  


Chapter 5: Battle of the Bubbles

All players were in position for the greatest battle the sea would ever see. The grand-daddy of all bouts aquatic. MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon, Zudomon, MagnaAngemon, and Dolphmon vs. Pukumon. Sure, the good guys had him outnumbered, but Pukumon had them outclassed. It was a Champion and 4 Ultimates against a Mega Digimon: the highest class attainable. But enough describing the players, the BATTLE is what deserves attention.

Pukumon decided it was for HIM to welcome his guests. "Well, well, well... I'm impressed. Personally, I had my doubts about being able to take you on myself, but it looks like that fool MarineDevimon left me something after all." He then looked over to Zudomon. "Well, hello there, Gomamon. Or was it Ikkakumon? I'm so bad with names when I'm beating them to a PULP! Hah hah HAH!!!"

"I screwed up once, Pukumon," frowned Zudomon, "I WON'T this time!"

"Ah, so sure of ourselves, are we?" Pukumon retorted. "What's gonna make a difference this time, huh? Your little friends? HAH! I'll show you just how much good your FRIENDS are gonna do! Needle Squall!!!!!!" he shouted as he tensed his entire body, then launched a barrage of spikes in every direction.

Every Digimon was now a potential target. Each tried their best to maneuver around all of them. Those with shells or shields used them. Dolphmon used his Pulse Blast attack to divert the path of the spikes. Lillymon was blasting every one she could see using her Flower Cannon technique. Suddenly, she looked directly ahead to see one only feet away. She managed to blast that one just in time. It created a nearly impenetrable cloud of dust. Just as the dust started clearing, the next thing she saw was Pukumon no more than a foot in front of her, as he slammed into her with explosive force. She collapsed into the ground. It would be a while before she got back up. Meanwhile, Mimi was once again on her knees sobbing.

MegaKabuterimon decided to nail him while he was distracted. As Pukumon watched Lillymon squirm, MegaKabuterimon set his boosters to full force, and cried "Horn Buster!!!!!" as he launched himself at the blowfish. The spiked tip of his horn was charged and ready to deal some serious hurt. Just as he was about to make contact, Pukumon spun around and grabbed the horn's shaft. MegaKabuterimon had just stopped dead in midflight! He then proceeded to spin him around a few times, then tossed him straight into the wall. Not only did this cause MegaKabuterimon great pain, but his horn was now stuck in the rock. Pukumon laughed with delight.

MagnaAngemon and Zudomon then decided to go for another double-team. MagnaAngemon called "Wing Shield!!!!!" as he used his wristband and shining wings to activate a wall of energy in front of him, then proceeded to charge Pukumon with it. He came at him like a bullet. Upon impact, Pukumon lifted his arms to brace himself. He held back MagnaAngemon with little effort. MagnaAngemon kept coming, as Zudomon came from behind, crying "Vulcan's Hammer!!!!!" Pukumon saw this coming, and thought about holding him off as well. But then he grinned, as he got a juicier idea. As Zudomon swung, prepared to pound and smash, Pukumon suddenly let go of MagnaAngemon. The 2, MagnaAngemon and Zudomon's hammer, slammed together with unimaginable force that sent BOTH flying in opposite directions. Pukumon laughed. "You guys are making this WAY too easy!!!"

"Let's try a change of pace, then!" called Dolphmon as Pukumon turned to face him. Dolphmon began to charge at him, as Pukumon did the same. As Dolphmon lifted back his tail, Pukumon wound up his fist. And as they swung to attack, Dolphmon cried "Dolphin Kick!!!!" as Pukumon shouted "Needle Squall!!!!!!" Dolphmon's kick connected with Pukumon's punch, the resulting blow creating a flash of power that could be seen by the kids above the water. They were getting worried. Meanwhile, Dolphmon was now yelping in pain from the spikes on Pukumon's knuckles. Pukumon then breathed in, then blew out with a force that created a cloud of sand and dirt right in Dolphmon's face, causing him to cough and hack as he attempted to find and fight his way out of the cloud. Pukumon then smirked, as he pulled back and smacked him with another decent slam to the snout.

The kids were frightened now. Whatever he did while he was in that cave, he was tougher than ever. He had the look of vengeance on his face like never before. Now he was fighting dirty. Nothing but rage could be seen in his eyes.

But Dolphmon kept coming. Despite the fact that Pukumon was obviously winning, Pukumon was amazed how well Dolphmon was fighting. Normally, not even 8 Champions could take on 1 Mega, but this one had an undying thirst to win. As much as Pukumon hated to admit it, he was impressed. Still, he wasn't about to let up. He continued to punch away, until with a final jab-cross-uppercut-swing combo, he finally sent Dolphmon into the ground. He was surprised. If he weren't already in the water, he might have broken a sweat.

He looked around at his fallen opponents. There they sat; MagnaAngemon, Lillymon, Dolphmon, MegaKabuterimon..... but someone was missing....... where was Zudomon???

He soon got his answer, as his back felt like it was about to shatter from the force of Zudomon's Vulcan's Hammer. Now it was he who was tossed to the ground face-first. He lifted himself up slowly, then turned around to see Zudomon coming in for another shot as he tossed his hammer right at him. Pukumon sneered, then began to spin, arms outstretched, like a top of destruction in Zudomon's general direction. His force managed to knock the hammer away, then proceeded to slam Zudomon several times in the face, smashing his horn, causing him to reel back.

Zudomon managed to stop himself in midfloat, and, in an attempt to retrieve his weapon, withdrew into his shell and launched himself at the evil fish. Pukumon hadn't enough time to react, as Zudomon crashed into him, and they both smashed into the ground. Zudomon managed to time himself perfectly so that instead of stopping at the rock, he was able to maneuver to grab his hammer in the same flight. But Pukumon got right back up, with few signs of pain, if any. He then went back on the offensive, as he launched a flurry of punches at Zudomon, each of which he blocked with either his paw, shell, or hammer. Finally, just as it seemed there was no move Pukumon could make that Zudomon couldn't match, Pukumon heaved a breath of purple gas right in Zudomon's face. As the kids gasped, Zudomon clenched his face, soon followed by his stomach, all the while howling in pain.

Joe was worried now. "What the... what did he just do?!?!?"

Izzy used the Terminal in an attempt to gain more information on the creature. "Let's see... Pukumon..... Virus Type.... Aquatic Sea Mutant Digimon.... attacks are Needle Squall... and..... oh no........"

"What??? What is it???" cried Joe at Izzy.

".... Globefish Poison!" finished Izzy.

"WHAT????? He POISONED HIM?!?!?" cried Joe. "He's in trouble!!!"

Trouble was right. Now far too weak to fight, he was taking every blow. Hard. He was beginning to get cracks in his shell. Finally, he was flung into an underwater hill, smashing it to bits. As weak as he was, he got back up, and tried another assault with his hammer. But the poison was taking its toll, and he was striking powerfully enough to shake up a fly. Pukumon swatted him back like nothing. Seeing he was outclassed, he then tried using his hammer as a shield. No use. Pukumon stopped his fist assault, then proceeded to yell "Needle Squall!!!!!!" as he launched a barrage of massive spikes at him. His hammer worked for a while, but, due to Zudomon's link to it, was weakened by the poison, and was eventually smashed and shattered, leaving him defenseless.

"No way!" cried Joe. "He smashed his hammer?!? But it's Chrome Digizoid! It's indestructible! That's impossible!!!"

Pukumon then continued his onslaught. He kept on launching spike after spike at the Ultimate sea animal. Finally, as incredible as it may sound, Zudomon's shell cracked to pieces. He now had no hope, and was given no mercy on Pukumon's part. He continued his punching assault with ruthless force. Finally, left with no defense or energy whatever, he slammed into the wall once more, then flashed as he De-Digivolved back to Gomamon.

MagnaAngemon saw that Gomamon was in danger, and that it was up to him to save him. But he couldn't do it alone. He swam up and tapped Pukumon on the shoulder from behind, and as the fish turned around, MagnaAngemon fully charged his saber, bellowing, "Excalibur Energize!!!!!" as he took a swipe at the monster's face, creating a long scar across the creature that sent him howling toward the others. The others distracted Pukumon with what little strength they had left, while MagnaAngemon attempted to cure Gomamon of Pukumon's poison. "Magna Antidote!!!!!" he chanted as beams of light shone gently from his wings upon Gomamon's body. He kept it up for a while, but it was no use. The poison was a Mega's; it was too strong, even for him. He then heard a crash behind him, as he watched the last of his comrades plummet once again. "Oh no you don't! Needle Squall!!!!!!" Pukumon screamed as he launched another series of spikes directly at the winged avenger. This time, his Wing Shield couldn't stand up to the spikes' force, and was pinned to the wall by all 8 wings. He couldn't move, and as amazing as it sounds, he was wrenching in pain.

"NO!!!!!" cried Joe, "Not again!!!!! This is all my fault... I should have NEVER let him fight!!! NOW what are we gonna do?"

Suddenly, he heard something. All the kids did. They looked up in the sky to see a small, strange, yellow-shelled, purple-bellied creature beam in in a flash of light above them.

Meanwhile, Gomamon was at Pukumon's mercy. Pukumon was thrilled. Gryphonmon was right; this WAS fun! "Well, Gomamon..." he began, "... it's been fun. We must do it again sometime! Oh wait... too late!!! Hah hah hah hah h-"

He was cut off in mid-cackle by a strange missile hitting him from above! But his opponent was sitting right there, helpless, in front of him.... and HE was in his Gomamon stage, not Ikkakumon..... who could it be?!? He looked up to see a silver and purple metal submarine heading right for him. It had large, green eyes, and a large drill on its nose. It was Submarimon! But how? Cody was stuck in the real world! He looked, and noticed that Submarimon had a passenger: Joe! "Way to go, Submarimon! Keep it up! We've GOT to get him away from Gomamon!" Submarimon acknowledged and cried "Oxygen Torpedo!!!!" as he launched another volley of heatseaking force missiles at Pukumon. Pukumon was soon lost in the cloud of dust and bubbles.

"Nice job," said Joe, "Now, can you keep him busy for a minute?"

"Sure, I guess," responded Submarimon, "But what...?"

Before he could finish, Joe popped the hatch. "Joe! What are you-"

As Joe swam out, he replied, "Gomamon needs me; I've got to get to him! I need you to keep Pukumon off my back! Can you do that, Submarimon? Please?"

Submarimon narrowed his eyes, then finally answered, "... ok." He then turned to the enemy and cried "Aqua Vulcan!!!!" as his drill began to spin, and charged at Pukumon, leaving Joe and Gomamon alone.

"Gomamon?" Joe inquired to the small creature, "Are you ok?"

"... not... really....." replied Gomamon. "I guess you were right, Joe; I should never have come out to battle!"

"... no." replied Joe, as Gomamon gave him a puzzled look, "I was wrong; wrong to hold you back. Without you, the others would've died already. You gave them hope for survival."

"What's Submarimon doing here?" asked Gomamon finally. "And where's Cody?"

"Gennai sent Armadillomon. Apparently, using a special link, the others can use the Terminals to access the armors manua-" Joe then began coughing. He must have forgotten that he was underwater.

"Joe!" cried Gomamon, "You gotta get to the surface! You'll drown!!!"

"I don't care!" stated Joe weakly. "I'm not leaving you again!" Gomamon began to feel guilty. Joe continued, "Just know, whatever happens, I'll protect you. You can always depend on me." Gomamon began to get a tear of joy.

But this moment of happiness didn't last long. Because the next thing they saw was Submarimon flying right past them. They looked over to see Pukumon grinning. "Well, that didn't take long," he laughed. "Now it's your turn, Gomamon; time to Terminate!!! Needle Squall!!!!!!" As he launched a final barrage of spikes right at the pair, Joe threw himself in front of Gomamon, ready to defend him. Gomamon shouted. But Joe replied, "Just remember, no matter what, you could always rely on me!!!" as he began to go limp again, and the spikes kept coming. He began to see his life flash before his eyes. Suddenly, Joe got a strange, warm sensation, as his entire body began to glow a brilliant gray. Gomamon then flashed, in a lightning-like burst of power, and reached a new level......

"Gomamon, Warp-Digivolve to...... Vikemon!!!!!!"  
  


Chapter 6: Turning of the Tide

And as Joe closed his eyes, bracing for impact, he heard an explosion. In a few seconds, he realized he wasn't dead. He opened his eyes to find himself inside a frost-covered bubble, and no spikes in site. As he began to wonder what had just happened, he noticed a strange new creature in front of him. It was a giant, white-furred beast with what appeared to be a tan-colored, cape-like, clawed skin wrapped around his shoulders. He had a spiked helmet with horns, round shields on his shoulders, and massive arms. Topping it all off was a pair of twin spiked mace launchers from his back and shoulders. Up above, the kids were shocked.

Joe was dumbfounded. "Gomamon... is that you?"

"Close enough," he replied. "Just not the same Gomamon YOU know!!!"

Izzy used the Terminal, whose connection had miraculously survived, to analyze this new anomaly. "Joe, Gomamon's gone Mega!!!!! He's Vikemon now!!! He's an Animal Beast Digimon of the Vaccine Type! His attacks are Arctic Axe and Polar Blizzard!"

Although he was obviously shaken by this, Pukumon did his best not to let it show. "Oh, so this is the best you can do?" he said, in a shaky, yet nonchalant voice. "Well, it doesn't matter, he STILL can't beat me! Needle Squall!!!!!!" As he launched his attack at Gomamon's new form, the good guy just stood there and watched. Then, as the spikes nearly reached their mark, Vikemon merely shrugged them off, using the shields on his shoulders to bounce them away, then leaned forward and cried "Arctic Axe!!!!!!" as he fired the two chain-linked spiked balls from the cannons on his back. They were dead-on, and smashed into Pukumon, sending him crashing into yet another wall with explosive force.

"YES!!!" Joe cheered, "THAT'S my Digimon!!! Go get 'im, Vikemon!!!!!"

Still, Pukumon wouldn't back down. He began to charge Vikemon once again. Vikemon just grabbed him with one hand, then chucked him baseball style to MegaKabuterimon, who he was sure would want to join the fun. He was right, as MegaKabuterimon used his horn to bash Pukumon right at Dolphmon, who was winding up for a great strike. "Dolphin Kick!!!!" he called, as he swung, sending Pukumon toward a cave opening like a soccer ball. "And it's a....." he began, as he watched, and finally, Pukumon crashed into the opening. "... GOAL!!!!!"

"Now for the extra point..." started Lillymon, still on the ground, exhausted and injured, ".....Flower Cannon!!!!!" as she placed her hands together, forming a large flower that bloomed into a large blaster, and fired at the cave. Submarimon went for the double team and cried "Oxygen Torpedo!!!!" launching another volley of missiles. The cave exploded. They could see no signs of life.

Until the dust cleared.

Suddenly, hundreds upon hundreds of red, golden armored, 3-horned, tentacled creatures shot out of the cloud, followed by Pukumon, who had managed to survive the blast with only scratches. The creatures were all armed with swords, blasters, and other various weapons. "Well, I guess now it's time you met MY friends!!! May I introduce... the Octomon!!!!"

Izzy was on it. "Octomon are Virus-Type Mollusk Digimon. It uses its various weaponry to attack its enemies, as well as its Spurting Ink and Octopus Trap techniques. It utilizes its most powerful attacks when its crown and horns glow. Once it grabs hold of you, it WON'T let go!"

"Spurting Ink!!!!" the Octomon cried in unison as they raised their tentacles, then proceeded to shoot a thick cloud of ink at the Digi-Team. The Digimon couldn't see a thing, and were beginning to choke. In the darkness, they began to feel the strikes of the Octomon attacking them. After a bit of a beating, the Octomon with blasters fired at the cloud, creating a devastating explosion that sent Digi-Destined flying everywhere, INCLUDING Vikemon!

As they eventually recovered, they attempted a counterattack on the fiends. MagnaAngemon began swashbuckling against an army of them from where he was still pinned to the wall using Excalibur, but didn't last long, as they began crying "Octopus Trap!!!!" and latching onto every part of his body, including his face and arms, neutralizing his blade. Vikemon held off as many as possible, for as long as possible, but suddenly started hacking once again, and dropped all defenses. His Digivolution had NOT completely cured him of Pukumon's poison. Unfortunately, the whole team was still very weak, and so eventually, every Digimon was trapped in this same manner. Pukumon laughed in delight as they squirmed.

"Oh, man..." sighed Joe, "where's a Legenduarian when you need one?!?"

Pukumon turned his attention to Dolphmon, who was tossing about as though he were possessed by the devil himself. "Well, what have we here?" Pukumon taunted. "Why, it's the big hero! Still didn't learn from LAST time, huh?" Dolphmon began struggling and biting, in an attempt to get just one shot in at him. The fire in his eyes was unmatched. Pukumon then delivered an open-handed slap to the snout that would've made Angewomon and LadyDevimon blush, making him even madder. "Hmm.... you've got spunk. I like that. I think I'll destroy YOU first!!!"

MegaKabuterimon saw that Dolphmon was their best hope at getting a good shot in at Pukumon and getting them out. So he charged energy in the green crystal in his shell, and through his horn as he shouted "Thunder Shower!!!!!" and sent scattered thunderbolts at the Octomon covering Dolphmon's body, paralyzing them. As Dolphmon broke free, he unleashed his most powerful Pulse Blast ever possible at Pukumon, sending him plummeting into the rock with a bang. Dolphmon followed in hot pursuit, with a certain glow to him, as the Octomon began to encircle Pukumon's body and cry "Spurting Ink!!!!" and fire a large ink cloud directly into his path. But Dolphmon stayed his course, a burning light in his eyes. Suddenly, Joe heard a voice above him cry, "Joe, use your Digivice!!!" Although he wasn't quite sure who it was, or what he meant, he almost instinctively held out his Digivice and aimed it at Dolphmon. Miraculously, the device began to glow, and as Dolphmon dove into the black cloud, the next thing anybody could see was a brilliant flash of light penetrate through the darkness, and what they all heard lifted their spirits once again.

"Dolphmon, Digivolve to..... Whamon!!!!!"

A small dolphin, only slightly larger than Pukumon, had entered the ink cloud. An immense blue creature emerged, with a thick, black-gray head, large teeth, and an even bigger whole in his head. Their old friend had returned to the state they all knew and loved; Whamon was back! He had kept up his momentum throught the whole ordeal, and so rammed into Pukumon with spine-smashing force. He was now face first in the sand and dirt beneath him.

Whamon's first order of business was to get the Octomon off of the Digi-Destined. "Tidal Wave!!!!!" he cried as he began swimming in a small circle and the water around him began to pulse. First a small shake, then a twist, then an all-out maelstrom as the water sunk then lifted in a perfect ring-shaped tidal wave - a tsunami - with such force that the Octomon were tossed to various corners of the ocean, FAR far away from the Digi-Destined. The Digimon were now free. Pukumon once again stood alone, squared off against the forces of good. Unfortunately, the forces of good were still weak; MagnaAngemon was still hanging from the wall, wrenching in pain, and Vikemon was nearly paralyzed by the poison still in his system. Unless Whamon could take him on alone, the team was in big trouble.

Joe finally remembered about the voice, and looked up to see where it came from. "Hey, who is that?!?" he called, unable to see too well through the fog in the bubble. He then heard a reply - "Hold on; in so many words, your bubble's about to burst!" The voice was right, as Joe felt the wall of the ice bubble begin to melt, and water began to spray in. "Here, let me give you something better to work with, here," the voice called coolly, as the ice bubble was bit by bit replaced with a transparent energy field. And now, Joe could see much better who had beckoned him: their own little pink, pint-sized guardian angel, spear in hand - the diminutive Piximon!!!  
  


Chapter 7: Golden Glow

Joe was so excited, he got lost in the moment and squeezed the little fairy with a big hug, which only stopped when Joe heard him squeek with pain. "PIXIMON!!!!!" he cried as he let go, "I'm so glad to see you here! I haven't seen you since the Dark Masters... uh....." Joe paused, knowing this might be an awkward subject, as Piximon had sacrificed himself so that the others could escape from the original Dark Masters 5 years ago. He then tried to pick it back up, ".... soooo............ how've ya been? Whatcha been up to?"

"Joe, I'm flattered that you're so happy to see me," Piximon finally (and tactfully) interrupted, "but the idle chitchat will have to wait for now! We've got bigger problems to deal with at the time being!"

"Right, I'm sorry," apologized Joe. Then he realized that he had an important question. "Piximon, how did my Digivice make Dolphmon Digivolve into Whamon??? Is he a Legenduarian or something?"

"No, Whamon is not a Legenduarian. You made him Digivolve because THAT is the POWER of your Digivices: to MAKE Digimon Digivolve! That is how Leomon gained the ability to Warp-Digivolve to SaberLeomon 5 years ago. That is how that little Pichimon Digivolved into a Bukamon yesterday!" This made sense to Joe, though how Piximon knew all that was beyond him. He wasn't about to question him on THAT, however, as there were more pressing matters at hand. "Joe, listen; Whamon isn't a Legenduarian, but I think I know someone who IS!"

"Who?!?" asked Joe, "WHO'S a Legenduarian???" "You shall see soon enough, my child," replied Piximon, "But now, I have something the 8 of you must do right away!" As Joe opened up a communication with the raft using his Digivice, allowing the kids above to hear everything, Piximon shouted, "Everybody, hold your Digivices to the sky! Hurry!!!" The kids up above complied, and held their respective Digivices and D-3's skyward. Slowly, smoothly, the light from the little devices began to ripple with the water, then shot down to the sea beneath them, focusing directly into Piximon, who began to glow a brilliant golden color. His eyes, which had been shut, suddenly opened.

"Piximon, Mega-Digivolve to......MarineAngemon!!!!!!"

The kids stood in awe. What started as a little pink puffball with feathery wings and a sharp, steel spear was now a slighlty larger blueish creature. He was accessorized with a golden collar, red eyes, small blueish-purple wings, a red heart-like object across his chest, and a big, cheerful smile on his face. Don't ask me, NOBODY could figure it out. TK seemed especially interested. "Piximon's..... an angel?!?" "Or a ghost?" followed Kari, "Did he drown or something?" Izzy decided to check it out.

"His name's MarineAngemon, and he's a Mega-level Aquatic Pixie Digimon, believe it or not. His attacks.... uh........."

"Yeah, what ABOUT his attacks?" asked Matt.

"..... his attacks are Smiling Face and Ocean Love," moaned Izzy. The others' faces distorted at hearing this; this could NOT be serious!

Pukumon began to giggle, then burst into an all-out guffaw. "Ocean Love??? Smiling Face?!?!? HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!! Just LOOK at you!!! What a pathetic creature!!! I should destroy you just to put you out of your MISERY!!!!" He began to shadow box a bit, then began to come at the newly-Digivolved Digital Monster. MarineAngemon then began to smirk. Suddenly, Pukumon stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't move. MarineAngemon then began glowing as he turned that smirk to a mischievous grin. Pukumon suddenly found himself punching HIMSELF repeatedly! He had no control whatsoever, and was dumbfounded. Finally, MarineAngemon broke into an all-out smile, as Pukumon was sent flying. If that wall hadn't been there, he may never have stopped! As he struggled to pull himself up, he suddenly had a flash. "Oh no... OH nononononono NO....." he moaned in furious disbelief, "You can NOT tell me that THAT'S-"

"-THAT'S my Smiling Face attack, Pukumon!" MarineAngemon finished for him. "Lesson number one, Pukumon: NEVER underestimate your opponent!!!"

Joe started cheering again, while the others were too busy being confused. "But how did he evolve from a non-Destined like Piximon?" wondered Izzy Suddenly, it hit him. "Of COURSE!!!"

The others, however, were clueless, and inquired as to what he was referring. "Do you guys remember what Gennai said?" he explained.

"You mean about the Mutates?" asked Mimi, dense as ever.

"NO, about the LEGENDUARIANS." he replied.

"Yeah, I remember he said how they were supposed to save the DigiWorld and went bad instead." answered Matt.

"Yeah," added Tai, "and something about new sprites, the darkest of hours, and a flash of gol.... den........." He understood now.

"ExACTly!" commented Izzy.

"I get it now!" Sora announced. "When Piximon Digivolved, there was a huge flash of golden light! That must mean..."

"... that HE'S one of the Legenduarians!!!" finished Kari.

Meanwhile, MarineAngemon then turned his attention to his fallen comrades. He pulled his wings tight to his chest, then spread them gracefully as he called "Ocean Love!!!!!!" Beams of rainbow light began to pour from his wingtips, down upon his friends. Within seconds, they were all healed, revived and up on their feet. The spikes pinning MagnaAngemon to the wall disintegrated, and his wings patched up, good as new. Everyone was ready for battle. Pukumon was now surrounded on all sides. With a Mega now in the lineup, this was a whole new ballgame. The tide had just turned on this battle. He was now up against 2 Megas, 4 Ultimates, and 1 Armored Champion. His time was up.

"Alright," said Joe, with newfound confidence, "Now we've got 2 Mega Digimon! And one of them's a Legenduarian! Let's just see Pukumon try to stop us NOW!"

"Way to go, Joe!!!" shouted Tai, glad to see such a proud accomplishment on Joe's part.

But even with those kinds of odds against him, Pukumon still wouldn't give up! He spun around quickly, looking for a target between MagnaAngemon, Whamon, Submarimon, Lillymon, Vikemon, MegaKabuterimon, and MarineAngemon. He decided to take on Submarimon, but soon reconsidered after being swatted away by his huge, paw-like fins and drill. Lillymon then made her advance, shouting "Flower Ring!!!!!" and firing another blast from her Flower Cannon, this time in the form of a thin, long beam that, upon impact, wrapped Pukumon in a series of thick, spiny vines from which he couldn't shake out. MegaKabuterimon made him pay by yelling "Thunder Shower!!!!!" and sending a shower of chain lightning upon the vines, frying the monster within until they finally shattered.

Shaken, yet not stirred, Pukumon launched a Needle Squall at MagnaAngemon. MagnaAngemon simply hrumphed and called forth "Gate of Destiny!!!!!". Energizing his sword, he cut in a perfect circle, forming a gate of infinite proportions and probabilities. Pukumon watched in horror as every last spike was swallowed up by the gate, which MagnaAngemon then closed, spun around, then reopened as the spikes came barreling back out at Pukumon. He did his best to dodge them all, but most of them still grazed him. During this time, Whamon's Tidal Wave attack had grown bigger and more powerful, as it soon left a large circular area surrounding Pukumon completely waterless, robbing him of any remaining advantage in the fight.

The dried-up fish then began to regrow his spikes in an attempt to pull himself back together, but Vikemon wasn't about to have that. "Polar Blizzard!!!!!!" he howled as his shoulder shields glowed a strong blue and produce a whirling wind of sub-zero shards directly at Pukumon. Before a single spike could sprout, Pukumon's skin was covered in a layer of ice so thick even his spikes couldn't break through. It was like an ingrown toenail, and Pukumon was howling with pain. It was time to put him out of his misery.

MarineAngemon looked at the struggling creature, and for a brief instant caught sight of the area in his back where WarGreymon had injured him. He had found his target. "Smiling Face!!!!!!" he cried as he used his almost hypnotic eyes to turn Pukumon around and hold him in place, just before shouting "Ocean Love!!!!!!" The heart on his chest glowed, he tensed up, then was thrown spiraling back as a beam of immense power and energy flared from his chest. It cracked through the ice, and through the crack in Pukumon's back. The kids and Digimon watched as Pukumon began to swell at first, then inflate, extreme agony on his face, then the ice shattered as every hole in his body began pouring raw energy. Submarimon and Vikemon decided to help finish the job. "Oxygen Torpedo!!!!" and "Arctic Axe!!!!!!" they shouted as one fired a final volley of missiles and torpedoes and the other launched both spiked balls with full force. The blast was too much for Pukumon to hold himself together, and he only had time to utter one last thought, "... the... clouds....." before finally he exploded, every last piece of him disintegrating. The reign of Pukumon was finished. As the water calmed, the DigiDestined heaved a well-deserved sigh of relief.

All except Joe.

"YES!!!!!!! YOU RULE, VIKEMON!!!!!!!!!!!" he cried, tears coming down his face. "YOU NAILED HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Joe's partner finally looked proud of himself; the first time in a long time. He turned to Joe and grabbed him and the bubble he had been in since Piximon Digivolved. They joined in a joyous embrace as they slowly floated to the surface. The others De-Digivolved to their Rookie forms. Patamon got inside Submarimon, MarineAngemon merely floated to the top, and Palmon and Tentomon got on Whamon and rose as well. All the while, Joe and Vikemon just gazed at each other. "I knew you could do it, buddy," Joe whispered.

Finally, everybody reached the surface of the water. Palmon and Tentomon leapt from Whamon's back, and Patamon popped out of Submarimon's hatch as Submarimon jumped from the water and flashed as he De-Digivolved back to Armadillomon and landed back on the raft. TK, Izzy and Mimi grabbed their Digimon and congratulated them. Joe, Vikemon and MarineAngemon were the last to arrive, as they slowly emerged from the water and floated onto the raft. As the bubble finally popped, Joe landed butt-first on the raft, and as MarineAngemon floated in the air above him, Vikemon's body flashed, and he De-Digivolved all the way back to his In-Training stage, Bukamon. As he began to fall from the sky, Joe jumped over to catch him. He checked to make sure he was okay, then finally heaved his sigh of relief to see that he wasn't hurt.

"Great work, Bukamon," he complimented, "Those were some great moves back there."

"i warp-digivolved because i knew i can trust you, no matter what happens, to do the right thing," said Bukamon. Joe smiled and giggled a bit as they looked into each other's eyes.

The rest of the group now turned their attention to Whamon, who was watching the pair celebrate their finest moment. "Nice work down there, little fish," he commented, "We made a nice team." Bukamon blushed. "Bad news is, now I've gotta start my diet all over again!!!" The kids sighed. The Digivolve hadn't helped his sense of humor any.

"So, like..." started TK, as he turned to their other savior, "... what're you going to do now, MarineAngemon?"

"Yeah..." said Mimi, staring at him in awe, "I mean, who'd've thunk it? You're a Legenduarian, Pix.... er, MarineAngemon."

"Well," started the floating aquatic pixie, "it doesn't look like I have much choice at this point: I have my OWN destiny now, just like you have your own. I have some cleaning up to do around here. And it's gonna take a while. Hopefully, I can count on Whamon here to help me out. But YOU must continue your mission to destroy the rest of the Dark Masters. If you ever need anything though, just gimme a shout! But please... at least remember my NAME, Mimi!" The kids did a doubletake; Piximon had a sense of humor that could make him and Whamon friends for life.... that could be trouble.

"thank you for everything, marineangemon... whamon......." said Bukamon.

"It was my pleasure... we'll have to do it again sometime," replied Whamon, smiling. "It was great seeing you all again," seconded MarineAngemon, "But now, I've got some business to take care of.... Legenduarian stuff, you know......." And with that, the two turned to the open sea and headed on their way. As Joe and Bukamon began to turn to the group, they heard, "... and HEY!" They turned to see MarineAngemon looking their way. "... take it from me, keep smilin', huh Bukamon?" And Bukamon did just that, as he and the other kids waved and said their goodbyes.

It was almost time to head on. There were still 3 more Dark Masters left to go, and it was altogether possible that Pukumon was the weakest of the 4. Until they destroyed the rest, the DigiWorld wouldn't be at peace. But now wasn't the time to think about that. They had just won a BIG victory, and each player had something to be proud of. They had just proved to themselves what they came here to prove.

They still had it.  
  


Chapter 8: Avenge

"... odd....."

This was SkullMammothmon's reaction to a strange sensation he now felt. Gryphonmon and Boltmon inquired as to what he was referring. "I've just lost my link with Pukumon," he answered.

"You WHAT?!?" shouted Gryphonmon. "What do you MEAN you LOST him?!?!?"

"I mean my contact with him has been broken. His stray thoughts muttered something about 'the clouds', and then I lost contact with his spirit. I can't feel his presence anymore. Which means he's either blocking me, or -"

"Fish dead?" interrupted Boltmon.

"... I'm not certain, Boltmon," he replied.

"NO!" shouted Gryphonmon, "He COULDN'T have been defeated!! I REFUSE to accept it!!!"

"Calm yourself, Gryphonmon," suggested SkullMammothmon, "There's no help in ge-"

"NO!!! You don't get it, do you?!? He HAS to have survived!!!" screamed Gryphonmon. He then looked down and moaned, "He was the only one I could have any fun with around here. He was like a brother..." He then looked back up at the others. "I'm going to find him!"

"Negative, Gryphonmon," replied SkullMammothmon, "we can't risk it. Look how much good splitting up did Pukumon. Look, we've lost one, but the three of us still have enough power to crush those Digi-Destined. But if we lose ANOTHER one... We need to accept our loss and -"

"Quite frankly, SkullMammothmon," replied Gryphonmon, "You can take your orders and advice, and CRAM IT!!!!! Being a Dark Master used to mean something! At least the OLD Dark Masters had a mansion. Look at US now!!! Maybe YOU'RE happy living in a cave in the middle of nowhere, but I'M NOT!!! And DON'T give me that 'low profile'crap!!! Besides, you heard him yourself, SkullMammothmon; he said something about the clouds! Don't you get it; I'm the king of the skies!!! He's calling ME to avenge his death!!!" He turned away and spread his wings. "I'm leaving now, and that's NOT a request for permission!!!!!" And with that, he was up and out. And as he heard SkullMammothmon's roar slowly die down behind him, he grinned as he prepared to give those DigiDestined a run for their money. If they thought the "destroyer of the depths" was trouble, they'd best look out for the "winged revenger"!  
  
  
  


To Be Continued.....


End file.
